Higher Secondary Course ENGLISH CLASS - XI · r The Trip of Le Horla - Guy de Maupassant r The...
Transcript of Higher Secondary Course ENGLISH CLASS - XI · r The Trip of Le Horla - Guy de Maupassant r The...
Government of Kerala
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
ENGL ISH
State Council of Educational Research and Training
(SCERT), Kerala
2016
CLASS - XI
Higher Secondary Course
Prepared by :
State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT)Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram 695012, Kerala
Website : www.scertkerala.gov.in e-mail : [email protected] : 0471 - 2341883, Fax : 0471 - 2341869
Typesetting and Layout : SCERT© Department of Education, Government of Kerala
To be printed in quality paper - 80gsm map litho (snow-white)
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Jana-gana-mana adhinayaka jaya he
Bharatha-bhagya-vidhata
Punjab-Sindh-Gujarat-Maratha
Dravida-Utkala-Banga
Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga
Uchchala-Jaladhi-taranga
Tava subha name jage,
Tava subha asisa mage,
Gahe tava jaya gatha
Jana-gana-mangala-dayaka jaya he
Bharatha-bhagya-vidhata
Jaya he, jaya he, jaya he,
Jaya jaya jaya, jaya he!
PLEDGE
India is my country. All Indians are my brothers andsisters.
I love my country, and I am proud of its rich and variedheritage. I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall give my parents, teachers and all elders respect,and treat everyone with courtesy.
To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion.In their well-being and prosperity alone lies myhappiness.
FOREWORD
The objectives of teaching and learning English at the secondaryschool level have undergone radical changes. A paradigm shift inapproach has given equal emphasis to the development of literaryand communicative competence. Hence, the learners are to beprovided with ample opportunity for the constructive use and furtherenrichment of language and literary skills.
The English Reader for Class XI has been developed on the basis ofthe Revised Curriculum introduced in the state of Kerala. ThisTextbook is activity-based, process-oriented and learner-centred. Itis aimed at realizing and refining the language potential developed inthe lower classes.
The basic premise of the Textbook is that the learners will read thematerials provided, perform various language-learning activitiesindividually and in groups and become well-equipped to use Englishmost effectively in real life situations. To this end, the Textbook hasbeen divided into six units, each of which explores a common themeand provides space for the desired outcome.
The individual literary pieces included in this Textbook have beenselected judiciously to engage the imagination of the secondary schoolstudents and to enrich their aesthetic appreciation. Attempts havealso been made to establish a link between the learning expectationsand the learning outcomes.
The Textbook has been developed in a series of workshops organizedby the SCERT in which a team of teachers from various HigherSecondary Schools, Colleges and Universities was involved. We extendour gratitude to them for their creative contribution and whole-heartedsupport.
Constructive criticism and creative suggestions regarding this bookare most welcome.
Dr P. A. FathimaDirector
SCERT, Kerala
Academic Coordinator
Dr S. Raveendran NairHead, Department of Curriculum, SCERT, Kerala
Members
Dr Bindu S. V.HSST (English), JPHSS, Ottasekharamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram.
Smt. Beena Sebastian K.HSST (English), St. Joseph’s Girls' HSS, Changanasserry.
Sri. Mohammed Shiyas M. V.HSST (English), GHSS, Beypore, Kozhikode.
Smt. Jyolsna P. K.HSST (English), Sree Ramakrishna Mission HSS, Kozhikode.
Sri. Rakesh R.HSST (English), SRKGVM HSS, Puranattukara, Thrissur.
Sri. Vasanthakumaran Nair K.HSST (English), Govt. Girls HSS, Cotton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram.
Sri. Bitter C.HSST, Govt. HSS for Girls, Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram.
Sri. Anand Kumar S.HSST (English), Govt. Model HSS, Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram.
Sri. SatheeshHSST (English), HSS Chempazhanthi, Thiruvananthapuram.
Sri. Haridasan N. K.Art Teacher, GHSS, Azhiyoor, Kozhikode.
Experts
Dr K. Reghunathan PillaiProfessor of English (Rtd.), University College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr Thomas KuruvillaPrincipal, Govt. Victoria College, Palakkad.
Dr Beena GopinathPrincipal (Rtd.), Govt. College, Attingal.
Dr D. Radharamanan PillaiProfessor of English (Rtd.), NSS College, Nilamel.
Prof. S. Bindu SasibhooshanProfessor of English (Rtd.), University College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Textbook Development Team
WORDS AND DEEDS
BEYOND THE HORIZON
r His First Flight - Liam O’Flaherty
r I will Fly - Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
r Quest for a Theory of Everything - Kitty Gail Ferguson
r If (Poem) - Rudyard Kipling
r And then Gandhi Came - Jawaharlal Nehru
r The Price of Flowers - Prabhat KumarMukhopadhyay
r Death the Leveller (Poem) - James Shirley
r Sunrise on the Hills (Poem) - H. W. Longfellow
r The Trip of Le Horla - Guy de Maupassant
r The Sacred Turtles of Kadavu (A Fijian Legend)
r Disasters and DisasterManagement in India - Anjana Majumdar
r The Serang of Ranaganji - Dr A. J. Cronin
r The Wreck of the Titanic (Poem) - Benjamin Peck Keith
r Gooseberries - Anton Chekhov
r To Sleep (Poem) - William Wordsworth
r Going out for a Walk - Max Beerbohm
r The Cyberspace - Esther Dyson
r Is Society Dead? - Andrew Sullivan
r Conceptual Fruit - Thaisa Frank
GLIMPSES OF GREATNESSUNIT 1
BRAVING THE HAZARDS
HARMONY OF LIFE
LEAPS AND BOUNDS
UNIT 2
UNIT 3
UNIT 4
UNIT 5
UNIT 6
CONTENTS
07 - 37
38 - 71
72 - 100
101 - 129
130 - 161
162 - 182
Pages
Pages
Pages
Pages
Pages
Pages
1Unit
Success is undoubtedly the fruit of perseverance. The great
achievements of others can inspire us, and we, in turn, can be
an inspiration to many. The first unit of this textbook ‘Glimpses
of Greatness’ highlights the personality traits of some great
people. It throws light on the qualities that are to be developed
so as to become successful in life.
This unit includes an anecdote from the life of Abraham Lincoln
-- ‘Abe’s First Speech,’ a story by Liam O’ Flaherty -- ‘His First
Flight,’ a speech by Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam -- ‘I will Fly,’ a profile
of Stephen Hawking -- ‘Quest for a Theory of Everything’ and a
poem by Rudyard Kipling -- ‘If’. It aims at equipping the learners
to face the challenges of life with courage, confidence and
perseverance, and to become unique in their own ways. While
doing so, they must uphold the values of life. The unit also aims
at building confidence in learners to use English effectively and
to help them acquire a strong linguistic foundation that will
improve their application of the language in other contexts.
About the Unit
‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage tocontinue that counts.’
- Winston Churchill
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
8
1. ‘Some are born great; some achieve greatness; some have greatness
thrust upon them.’ -- William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night).
Is greatness an innate trait? Is it acquired by the successful or
thrust upon them? Discuss.
2. What qualities make people great? Discuss with your friends and
write them in the boxes below.
3. We strive to reach heights, achieve greatness and be successfulin life. But at times, it seems difficult.
Now, look at the picture given below.
m What thoughts and feelings does it evoke in you?
m Give a suitable caption to the picture.
m Have you had any similar experience? If so, share it with yourfriends.
Hard work
Greatness
Let’s begin
Perseverance
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
9
r Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest of American statesmen. He isknown for his celebrated speeches. Here is the story of his first speechas a little boy.
ABE’S FIRST SPEECH
‘Abe’ made his first speech when he was a boy, going barefoot, histrousers held up by one suspender, and his shock of hair stickingthrough a hole in the crown of his cheap straw hat.
Abe, in company with his rail-splitting* companion Dennis Hanks,attended a political meeting, which was addressed by a typical stumpspeaker**-- one of those loud-voiced fellows, who shouted at the topof his voice and waved his arms wildly.
At the conclusion of the speech,which did not meet the views eitherof Abe or Dennis, the latter declaredthat Abe could make a better speechthan that. Whereupon, he got a drygoods box and called on Abe to replyto the campaign orator.
Little Abe threw his old straw hat onthe ground, and, mounting the drygoods box, delivered a speech whichheld the attention of the crowd, andwon him considerable applause. Even the campaign orator admittedthat it was a fine speech and answered every point in his own ‘oration’.
Dennis Hanks, who thought Abe was the greatest man who everlived, was delighted, and he often spoke of how young Abe got thebetter of the trained campaign speaker.
(From ‘Abe Lincoln’s Anecdotes and Stories’ by R. D. Wordsworth.)
Think and respond:
m What made little Abe stand on the dry goods box and deliver thespeech?
m Do you think good dress, appearance, position in society, etc.,are needed to present yourself before the public for a speech?
m What is the role of Dennis in bringing out the best in young Abe?
r Do you think that everybody has some potential in them? Somepeople take the initiative, while others do not dare to showcasetheir talents. What do you think are the reasons for this? Writedown your views.
m Lack of opportunity m Lack of confidencem m
4. Read and discuss:
* Lincoln has often been portrayed as a ‘rail-splitter,’ wielding a heavy axe and splittinglogs to make rail fences.
** A stump speech was a speech addressed to the general public during a political orsocial campaign, where political candidates stood upon tree stumps to deliver a speech--- the custom in 19th century America.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
1 0
The young seagull was
alone on his ledge. His
two brothers and his
sister had already flown
away the day before. He
had been
afraid to fly
with them.
Somehow, when he had
taken a little run
forward to the brink of the ledge and attempted to flap his
wings, he became afraid. The great expanse of sea
stretched down beneath, and it was such a long way down
— miles down. He felt certain that his wings would never
support him; so he bent his head and ran away back to
the little hole under the ledge where he slept at night.
Even when each of his brothers and his little sister, whose
wings were far shorter than his own, ran to the brink,
flapped their wings, and flew away, he failed to muster up
courage to take that plunge which appeared
to him so desperate. His father and mother
had come around calling to him shrilly,
scolding him, threatening to let him starve on
his ledge, unless he flew away. But for the life of him, he
could not move.
That was twenty-four hours ago. Since then, nobody had
come near him. The day before, all day long,
he had watched his parents flying about with
his brothers and sister, perfecting them in the
art of flight, teaching them how to skim the
waves and how to dive for fish. He had, in fact, seen his
older brother catch his first herring and devour it,
standing on a rock, while his parents circled around
raising a proud cackle. And all the morning, the whole
Let’s read the story of a young seagull that was afraid to make its
first flight, and how its parents goaded it into action and thereby
equipped it to face the challenges of life.
HIS FIRST FLIGHTLiam O’Flaherty
• Why was the young seagull
afraid to fly?
• What did the parents do to
motivate the young bird
when it failed to muster up
enough courage to fly?
• How did the parents
support and encourage the
young seagull’s brothers
and sister?
I. Read and reflect:
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
1 1
family had walked about on the big plateau midway down
the opposite cliff, laughing at his cowardice.
The sun was now ascending the sky, blazing warmly on
his ledge that faced the south. He felt the heat because
he had not eaten since the previous nightfall. Then, he
had found a dried piece of mackerel’s tail at
the far end of his ledge. Now, there was not a
single scrap of food left. He had searched every
inch, rooting among the rough, dirt-caked
straw nest where he and his brothers and
sister had been hatched. He even gnawed at the dried
pieces of eggshell. It was like eating a part of himself.
He then trotted back and forth from one end of the ledge
to the other, his long gray legs stepping daintily, trying to
find some means of reaching his parents without having
to fly. But on each side of him, the ledge ended in a sheer
fall of precipice, with the sea beneath. And
between him and his parents, there was a
deep, wide crack.
Surely he could reach them without flying if he could
only move northwards along the cliff face? But then, on
what could he walk? There was no ledge, and
he was not a fly. And above him, he could see
nothing. The precipice was sheer, and the top
of it was, perhaps, farther away than the sea
beneath him.
He stepped slowly out to the brink of the ledge, and,
standing on one leg with the other leg hidden under his
wing, he closed one eye, then the other, and pretended to
be falling asleep. Still, they took no notice of him. He saw
his two brothers and his sister lying on the plateau dozing,
with their heads sunk into their necks. His father was
preening the feathers on his white back. Only his mother
was looking at him.
She was standing on a little high hump on the plateau,
her white breast thrust forward. Now and again, she tore
at a piece of fish that lay at her feet, and then scraped
each side of her beak on the rock. The sight of
the food maddened him. How he loved to tear
food that way, scraping his beak now and again
• Cite an instance which
shows the pathetic
condition of the young
bird.
• How did the bird try to
reach its parents without
having to fly?
• Why could the seagull not
succeed in its attempt?
• Do you think that the young
seagull’s parents were
cruel?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
1 2
to whet it! He uttered a low cackle. His mother cackled
too, and looked at him.
‘Ga, ga, ga,’ he cried, begging her to bring him
over some food. ‘Gawl-ool-ah,’ she screamed
back mockingly. But he kept calling plaintively,
and after a minute or so, he uttered a joyful
scream. His mother had picked up a piece of
fish and was flying across to him with it. He
leaned out eagerly, tapping the rock with his
feet, trying to get nearer to her as she flew across. But
when she was just opposite to him, abreast of the ledge,
she halted, her legs hanging limp, her wings motionless,
the piece of fish in her beak almost within reach of his
beak.
He waited a moment in surprise, wondering
why she did not come nearer, and then
maddened by hunger, he dived at the fish. With a loud
scream, he fell outwards and downwards into space. His
mother had swooped upwards. As he passed beneath her,
he heard the swish of her wings.
Then a monstrous terror seized him and his heart stood
still. He could hear nothing. But it only lasted a moment.
The next moment, he felt his wings spread
outwards. The wind rushed against his breast
feathers, then under his stomach and against
his wings. He could feel the tips of his wings cutting
through the air. He was not falling headlong now. He was
soaring gradually, downwards and outwards. He was no
longer afraid. He just felt a bit dizzy. Then, he flapped his
wings once and he soared upwards.
He uttered a joyous scream and flapped them again. He
soared higher. He raised his breast and banked
against the wind. ‘Ga, ga, ga. Ga, ga, ga.’ ‘Gawl-
ool-ah.’ His mother swooped past him, her
wings making a loud noise. He answered her with another
scream. Then, his father flew over him screaming. Then,
he saw his two brothers and sister flying around him,
soaring and diving.
Then, he completely forgot that he had not always been
able to fly, and commenced to dive and soar, shrieking
shrilly.
• Can you justify the attitude
of the parents?
• Your parents sometimes
behave in the same
manner. They may seem
cruel and unrelenting.
Does it mean that they do
not love you?
• What prompted the young
seagull to fly finally?
• Why was the young bird
terrified? How did it
overcome its fear?
• How did the family support
the seagull?
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
1 3
He was near the sea now, flying straight over it, facing
out over the ocean. He saw a vast green sea beneath him,
with little ridges moving over it; he turned his
beak sideways and crowed amusedly. His
parents and his brothers and sister had landed
on this green floor in front of him. They were beckoning to
him, calling shrilly. He dropped his legs to stand on the
green sea. His legs sank into it. He screamed with fright
and attempted to rise again, flapping his
wings. But he was tired and weak with hunger
and he could not rise, exhausted by the strange
exercise. His feet sank into the green sea, and then his
belly touched it and he sank no farther.
He was floating on it. And around him, his family was
screaming, praising him, and their beaks were offering
him scraps of dog-fish.
He had made his first flight.
• Why couldn’t the young
seagull stand on the green
sea?
• Do you think that the bird’s
parents loved him? Why?
Your teacher will help you watch thevisualisation of the story.
Glossary:
ledge (n) : a narrow horizontal
projection from a vertical
surface
muster up (v) : gather
skim (v) : glide
trot (v) : run at a moderate pace
precipice (n) : very steep rock face/cliff
preen (v) : clean
whet (v) : sharpen
plaintively (adv) : sadly
monstrous (adj) : frightening
Activity I (Read and respond)
m What is the theme of the story?
m What do you think is the real crisis faced by the young bird?
m What is your impression of the reaction of the parents in thestory?
About the Author
Liam O’Flaherty (1896-1984) was an Irish novelistand a short-story writer.His works are noted fortheir psychological insightinto life’s problems and theways of overcoming them.
His First Flight relates the importanceof independence and self-confidence,as well as the need to remain involvedin family life. Through the story of thebirds, the writer conveys the importanceof self-esteem and self-reliance.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
1 4
m Identify the words or expressions used in the story to expressthoughts, attitudes, movements, sounds, emotions, appearance,descriptions of the birds/ places, etc.
e.g. description of the young seagull's legs as ‘long gray,’ the ledge as‘a sheer fall of precipice,’ its walk as ‘trotted back and forth,’ etc.
m Do you think such expressions make the narrative more effectiveand engage your interest and attention?
m What is the message of the story?
Activity II (Review)
r Based on the discussion, prepare a review of the story.
Activity III (Tree diagram)
r Read the story once again. Identify the factors that preventedthe seagull from flying and those that favoured his flight. Now,complete the tree diagram.
Seagull’s life
failure success
fear need
Activity IV (Think and respond)
m Do you believe that you also can fly high in your life?
m What sort of support do you expect from your family?
m Can their support alone help you in fulfilling your ambition?
m What do you think are the requirements to attain success in life?Write them below:
m m
m m
m m
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
1 5
Dear friends,
I realize how the contributions of the youth in the past
have continuously contributed to the world of today in
many fields. I would like to assert that no youth today
needs to fear about the future. Why? The
ignited mind of the youth is the most powerful
resource on the earth, under the earth, and
above the earth. Dear young friends, I would like to talk
to you on the topic ‘I am born with wings.’
Last year, I went to a village to inaugurate a programme
called Sasthrayaan, which means ‘the propagation of
Science’. The mission of Sasthrayaan was to
ensure the preparation of about two thousand
students from different schools, towards
making them eligible to be engineers, scientists, doctors,
qualified managers, and civil servants. This
action would, in turn, empower about two
thousand families of the village. My inaugural
address to a mixed audience, consisting of five
thousand students and their family members,
was on the topic, ‘Science Empowers the
Nation’.
After my address, hundreds of hands were raised for
asking questions. Due to the limited availability of time, I
selected twelve students at random, from the last row to
the first, to ask questions. I would like to share with you
one question of great concern which was asked by a
student.
The question was from a teenager who had come from a
far away village. He was nervous and a typical
representative of the youth of India. The boy began
Let’s examine what Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam has to tell us about
being successful and unique.
I WILL FLY
Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
When I wish upon a star,
Makes no difference who I am.
Anything my heart desires
Will come to me.
• Why does Dr. Kalam say
that ‘No youth needs to fear
about the future’?
• What was the mission of
‘Sasthrayaan’?
• Dr Kalam’s talk was on the
topic ‘Science Empowers
the Nation.’ How does
science empower the
nation?
II. Read and reflect:
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
1 6
speaking, ‘Sir, I don’t know what I should ask.
I am nervous. I have not asked any question in
my class. I need to have confidence, but I have
not gained any confidence through my
education during all these years. I am afraid
to talk to my teachers, I am afraid to talk to my friends.
Whenever I talk, I compare myself with other students
and their elegant dress. Please tell me. I want to become
a marine engineer. I want to travel in a ship. I want to be
the captain of the ship. I want to build the
engine of the ship. Shall I be able to do all
these, sir? How can I achieve this mission?
What should I do?’ When the boy completed the question,
the entire audience and the dignitaries on the dais,
including the Chief Minister, were looking at me
wondering what Kalam was going to say to
the sincere question of a young village boy.
I thought of it, and breaking the silence, I
said, ‘My dear friend, you have put the most
difficult question among the many questions that I have
received from millions and millions of students
whom I have met. I value your question. I know
you are echoing the fear of many. Let me
recite a beautiful ancient poem named ‘I will fly’.
I am born with potential.I am born with goodness and trust. I am born with ideas and dreams.
I am born with greatness.I am born with confidence.
I am born with wings. So, I am not meant for crawling,
I have wings, I will fly
I will fly and fly.
Young friends, let me discuss with you, how you can beunique. I have, so far, met fifteen million youth in adecade’s time. I learnt, ‘Every youth wants to be unique,that is YOU!’ But the world all around you is doing itsbest, day and night, to make you just ‘everybody else’. Inyour home, dear young fellows, you are asked by yourparents to be like the neighbours’ children for scoringgood marks. When you go to school, your teacher
• What was the boy’s
concern?
• Why did the audience look
at Dr Kalam when the boy
completed the question?
• Why did Dr Kalam value
the boy’s question?
• How can you be unique?
• Why couldn’t the boy
gather confidence?
• If you were there, would
you dare to ask Dr Kalam a
question?
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
1 7
says, ‘Why don’t you become like thefirst five rankers in the class?’Wherever you go, people say, ‘You haveto be somebody else or everybody else’.Now, dear young friends, how many of
you would like to be unique yourself?
The challenge, my dear young friends,
is that you have to fight the hardest
battle which any human being can ever
imagine, and never stop fighting until
you arrive at your destined place, that
is, a UNIQUE YOU!
(Adapted)
Glossary:
dais (n) : platform/stage
propagate (v) : spread/ promote
Activity I (Think and respond)
m Are you confident enough to ask questions or express your viewsin public?
m Have you ever felt inferior to others in any way?
m How can you overcome your fear or inhibition?
m What is your ambition in life?
m Are you confident that you can fulfil your dream?
m How do you think you can attain your goal?
Activity II (Speech)
r Imagine that you get the opportunity to address Class X studentsbefore their public examination. On the basis ofDr Kalam’s message, prepare a speech to motivate and prepare
them for the examination.
Activity III (E-mail)
r You get inspired by Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s message and decideto communicate your thoughts and ideas to your friend who is
studying abroad. Draft an e-mail to your friend.
About the Author
Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Dr Kalam, the formerPresident of India, is adistinguished scientist,well-known for hissignificant contribution
to the field of space research. His visionis to transform India into a developednation by 2020.
Born on 15 October, 1931, atRameswaram in Tamil Nadu,Abdul Kalam specialised inAeronautical Engineering from theMadras Institute of Technology. Hebecame Professor of Technology andSocietal Transformation at AnnaUniversity, and was involved in teachingand research.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
1 8
QUEST FOR A THEORY OF EVERYTHING
In the Cockcroft Lecture Room, on
April 29, 1980, scientists and
university dignitaries gathered in
steep tiers of seats, facing a two-
storey wall of chalkboard and slide
screen. The occasion was the
inaugural lecture by a new Lucasian Professor of
Mathematics, the thirty eight-year-old mathematician and
physicist, Stephen Hawking.
The title of the lecture was a question: ‘Is the End in
Sight for Theoretical Physics?’ Hawking startled his
listeners by announcing that he thought it was. He invited
them to join him in a sensational escape through time
and space to find the Holy Grail* of science: the
theory that explains the universe, and
everything that happens in it.
Stephen Hawking sat silently in a wheelchair
while one of his students read his lecture to
the assembled company. Judged by appearance
alone, Hawking didn’t seem a promising choice
to lead any adventure.
Stephen William Hawking was born on 8
January, 1942, in Oxford, England. It was exactly three
hundred years after the death of Galileo, the father of
modern science.
Frank and Isobel Hawking, Stephen’s parents were not
Dr Kalam exhorts everybody to be unique in his/ her own way. There
are many people who have proved their uniqueness even while
fighting adversities and limitations. Stephen Hawking’s profile
reveals how he has overcome his disabilities to become the
‘supernova’ of physics.
Kitty Gail Ferguson
• How did Hawking startle
the audience?
* Holy Grail- (in medieval legend) the cup said to be used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper
• Stephen Hawking did not
appear to be a promising
choice to lead any
adventure. Why?
• Can a person be judged by
appearance alone? Justify
your response.
III. Read and reflect:
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
1 9
wealthy, but they believed in the value of education. So
they planned for Stephen to go to Westminster, a famous
public school in the heart of London. Unfortunately,
Stephen was ill at the time of the scholarship examination
for Westminster. Therefore, he attended the local Saint
Alban’s School.
By the time he was eight, he was thinking seriously about
becoming a scientist. Frank Hawking encouraged his son
to follow him into medicine, but Stephen found biology too
imprecise. He wanted a subject in which he
could look for exact answers and get to the
root of things.
Young Stephen was no prodigy. He was just an ordinary
English school boy, slow in learning to read, his
handwriting the despair of his teachers! He was ranked
no more than halfway up in his class, though he now says
in his own defence, ‘It was a very bright class.’
At fourteen, Stephen knew that he would pursue
mathematics and physics. His father called this impractical
for there were no jobs in mathematics except teaching.
Moreover, he wanted his son to attend his own college
and Oxford offered no mathematics. He followed his father’s
advice and studied chemistry, physics and only a little
mathematics, in preparation for the entrance into Oxford.
He did well in physics and the interview was brilliantly
accepted.
In 1959, at the age of seventeen, Hawking went to Oxford
to study natural science and to specialize in physics. He
joined University College, his father’s college and the oldest
at Oxford, founded in 1249 AD.
Nevertheless, for about a year and a half,
Hawking was lonely and bored. He was not
inspired to relieve his boredom by exerting himself
academically. But halfway through his second year, he
began enjoying Oxford.
He became popular and well-accepted among his peers.
They remember him as lively, buoyant, and
adaptable. He wore his hair long, was famous
for his wit, liked classical music and science
fiction, and took part in sports.
• What do you learn about
Stephen Hawking ’s
childhood?
• Comment on Hawking’s life
at Oxford.
• What opinion did
Hawking’s peers at Oxford
have about him?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
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However, at the end of the third year, Hawking almost
floundered. He selected theoretical physics as his
specialty. He had then applied to do a Ph.D. at Cambridge
and was accepted on condition that he got a ‘First’ from
Oxford. Hawking was confident that he could get through
successfully. But as the examination day approached, his
confidence failed. Hawking ended up disastrously on the
borderline between a first and a second.
Faced with a borderline result, the examiners summoned
Hawking for an interview and questioned him about his
plans. In spite of the tenseness of the situation,
Hawking managed to come up with the kind of
remark for which he was famous among his
friends. ‘If I get a first, I shall go to Cambridge.
If I receive a second, I will remain at Oxford. So I expect
that you will give me a first.’ He got his ‘First’ and he
went to Cambridge.
His first year at Cambridge was worse than
that at Oxford. His slipshod mathematical
background caught up with him, and he found
general relativity extremely tough. Another far
more disastrous problem arose then. During his third year
at Oxford, Hawking started getting clumsy. He’d fallen
once or twice for no apparent reason. The following
autumn, at Cambridge, he had trouble tying his shoes
and sometimes, he had difficulty talking.
Shortly after his twenty-first birthday in 1963,
Hawking contracted a rare disease, amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, for which there was no known
cure. It caused a gradual disintegration of the nerve cells
in the spinal cord and the brain. At first, he went into a
deep depression. He did not know what he ought to do, or
what his future would be like.
‘My dreams at that time were rather confused,’ he
admitted. ‘Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been
very bored with life. There did not seem to be anything
worth doing. But shortly after I came out of hospital, I
dreamt that I was going to be executed. I
suddenly realized that there were a lot of
worthwhile things to do, if I were reprieved.
• Stephen’s first year at
Cambridge was worse than
that at Oxford. Why ?
• Cite an example to prove
that Stephen Hawking was
sharp-witted. Did his wit
help him in any way?
• How did tragedy strike
Hawking shortly after his
twenty first birthday?
• What drastic change came
over Hawking after the
diagnosis of the disease?
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
2 1
Another recurring dream was the idea of
sacrificing my life to save others. After all, if I
were going to die, I might as well do some good.’
Hawking’s doctors hoped that his condition would stabilize,
but the disease aggravated rapidly. They soon informed
him that he had only about two more years to live.
Two years passed. The progression of the disease had
slowed. ‘I didn’t die. In fact, although there was a cloud
hanging over my future, I found to my surprise that I was
enjoying life in the present, more than before’. Total
disability and death, though still a not-too-distant
certainty, were postponed. Hawking had his reprieve, a
precarious and a temporary one, but life was precious.
At a New Year’s party at Saint Alban’s, just before he
entered the hospital for tests, Hawking met
Jane Wilde. To her, this dishevelled graduate
student seemed terribly intelligent, eccentric
and rather arrogant. But he was interesting and she liked
his wit.
When Jane met him again after his discharge from the
hospital, he was really in a pathetic state. ‘I think he’s
lost his will to live. He was very confused,’ she
commented. She was not, however, put off by
his physical or mental condition. She was rather a shy
teenager, serious-minded, with a strong faith in God
ingrained from childhood by her mother, and a belief that
good can come out of any adversity.
Hawking admired her optimism and their friendship
developed slowly. After a while, the two began to realize,
in Jane’s words, ‘that together, we could make
something worthwhile.’ For Stephen, that made
‘all the difference.’ He applied for a research fellowship at
Caius, one of the colleges in Cambridge University.
In 1965, at the age of twenty-three, Hawking received his
fellowship at Caius. And in July of the same year, Jane
and he were married.
People who remember Hawking in the University in the
late 1960s, recall him making his way around the corridors
with a cane, supporting himself against the wall. He spoke
with what sounded like a slight speech impediment. But
• What trait of Hawking's
character do you note
here?
• What was Jane’s impression
of Hawking?
• Write a note on the
character of Jane.
• How did Jane’s optimism
influence Hawking?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
2 2
more than that, they remember his brashness in sessions
involving some of the world’s most distinguished scientists.
While other young researchers kept a reverential silence,
Hawking daringly asked unexpected and penetrating
questions. He clearly knew what he was talking
about. His reputation as ‘a genius,’ ‘another
Einstein,’ began then.
In 1980, a practical need for funds launched
him into a new enterprise that was to have a
far reaching impact on the Hawkings and others all over
the world. He thought of writing a book about the universe,
about the most interesting questions that had made him
want to study cosmology and quantum theory: Where did
the universe come from? Is the universe infinite or does
it have any boundaries? Will it come to an end;
if so, how? Is there a complete theory of the
universe and everything in it? Is there a
beginning of Time? Could time run back? The book begins
by rewinding the great theories of the cosmos from Newton
to Einstein. He wrote the book to make science
understandable to non-scientists.
He completed the first draft in 1984. While the revision
process was going on, he made a trip to Switzerland. There
he was down with pneumonia and was left on a life-support
system. Doctors gave a choice as to whether a tracheotomy
operation which would remove his windpipe should be
conducted or not. It might save his life, but afterwards he
would never again be able to speak or make a vocal sound.
With grave misgivings, Jane consented.
‘The future looked very bleak,’ Jane remarked.
Hawking could no longer breathe through his
mouth and nose, but only through a permanent
opening made in his throat. After many weeks of intensive
care, he went home to join Jane and his three children.
He was still too weak and ill to continue his
research. Walt Woltosz, a computer expert in
California, sent him a programme he had
developed, called the Equalizer, which allowed Hawking
to select words from the screen.
He thought he would be unable to finish his book.
• What could have been the
misgivings of Jane?
• Is Stephen Hawking really
a great mind on par with
the likes of Einstein and
Newton. Justify your
answer.
• List the interesting facts
dealt with in Hawking’s
book.
• How could he overcome
his difficulties after the
tracheotomy operation?
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
2 3
With the support of his student Brian Whitt, A Brief History
of Time was published in 1988. September, 2005, saw the
release of an abridged version of the original book. This
version was updated to address the new issues that had
arisen due to further scientific developments.
One will encounter a multitude of paradoxes in the book:
‘In science and with people, things are often not what
they seem, and pieces that ought to fit together refuse to
do so. You’ll learn that beginnings may be endings; cruel
circumstances can lead to happiness, although fame and
success may not; two great scientific theories taken
together seem to give us nonsense; empty space isn’t
empty; black holes aren’t black; and a man
whose appearance inspires shock and pity
takes us laughing to where the boundaries of
time and space ought to be, but are not.’
It is of course a miracle that Hawking has been able to
achieve everything he has; that he is still alive. However,
when you experience his intelligence and humour, you
begin to take his unusual mode of communication and his
obviously catastrophic physical problems no more seriously
than he seems to himself. That is exactly the
way he wants it. He chooses to ignore the
difficulty and he expects others to adopt the
same attitude.
Stephen Hawking has overcome his crippling
disease to become the ‘supernova’ of world physics.
(Adapted)
• Mention some of the
unique ideas and
paradoxes put forward by
Stephen Hawking.
Your teacher will help you watch thevisualisation of the profile.
• What was Hawking's
attitude to his disability?
How do you estimate it in a
wider social context?
Kitty Gail Ferguson is a science writer,lecturer and a formerprofessional musician. She hasauthored numerous science booksincluding books on biographical facts.
Ferguson’s works are recognized fortheir degree of detail and accuracy. Sheis known for her ability to explain verycomplicated scientific concepts.
About the Author
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
2 4
Glossary:
apparent (adj) : clear
brashness (n) : boldness
buoyant (adj) : cheerful
dishevelled (adj) : untidy
flounder (v) : struggle
imprecise (adj) : inexact
misgivings (n) : doubts
penetrating (adj) : sharp
precarious (adj) : unstable
prodigy (adj) : genius
reprieve (n) : release
slipshod (adj) : careless
summon (v) : call
supernova (n) : a star that suddenly becomes brighter (often, because
of an explosion)
Activity I (Writing)
r Attempt an assessment of the personality of Hawking in a short
paragraph.
Activity II (Timeline)
r List the facts you have learned about Stephen Hawking, in
chronological order, in the timeline given below:
2005 Release of the abridged version of
‘A Brief History of Time’
1942
1950
1959
Birth
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
2 5
r Now, look at the list you have made. What facts do the readers
expect in a profile?
• Date of birth
• ....................
• ....................
• ....................
• ....................
• ....................
• .................... etc.
Activity III (Interview)
r Read the excerpt from the interview of Stephen Hawking by KittyGail Ferguson. She interviews him to collect details for hisbiography. Find out Stephen’s responses from the profile andcomplete the interview.
Interviewer : Shortly after your twenty-first birthday, your doctors
diagnosed that you had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
a rare disease for which there is no known cure. How
did you react to the diagnosis? How did you manage
to cope with the situation?
Interviewee : ...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
Interviewer : What made you think that life was precious? Can you
recollect any particular instance in your life that
has become crucial?
Interviewee : ...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
Interviewer : It is said that you wrote a book to make scienceunderstandable to non-scientists. Is that so?
Interviewee : ...............................................................................
...............................................................................
...............................................................................
r Now, prepare a set of questions, and conduct an interview witha person who has become successful in any field in your locality.You can identify people who became successful in any walkof life, such as farming/ entrepreneurship/ the civil services/competitive examinations, etc.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
2 6
Your teacher will help you watch the visualisation of model GDs
Activity IV (Profile)
Using the responses you received from the person youinterviewed, prepare his/her profile.
Activity V (Speech)
r Read the following statements from the profile of Stephen
Hawking.
‘Shortly after I came out of hospital, I dreamt that I wasgoing to be executed. I suddenly realized that there were alot of worthwhile things I could do.’
Can you find out similar incidents that happened in the lives of othergreat people (such as Helen Keller, Wilma Rudolf, ValentinaTereshkova, etc.). Prepare a short speech on any one of them so asto deliver it before the school assembly.
Activity VI (Group Discussion)
r Now, conduct a group discussion on the topic ‘Adversities in lifeshould make you better, not bitter.’
Tips
The Group Discussion is a comprehensive tool for assessing acandidate’s personality. Most organizations today are very clearabout the skills and knowledge that they look for in a candidate,while screening. The GD has become a part of the selection processfor admission to any reputed institution.
Skills judged in Group Discussions
• how good you are at communication
• how you behave and interact with others
• how open-minded you are
• your listening skills
• the way you present your views
• your leadership and decision making capacity
• your knowledge of the subject and ability to analyze
• problem solving and critical thinking skills
• your attitude and confidence
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
2 7
Activity VII (Cohesive devices)
r Note the use of words like ‘moreover’, ‘nevertheless’, ‘however’,etc. in the profile. These words which show the relationshipbetween sentences and hold a text together, are known ascohesive devices. Identify a few such expressions/words andcomplete the following.
Words used Writer’s purpose Whether effective or not
........................... ........................... ...........................
........................... ........................... ...........................
........................... ........................... ...........................
Function Cohesive devices
Reason/ Cause and Effect
Result
Purpose
Contrast/ Qualify
Contradicting
Adding
Illustrating
Comparing
Generalising
Sequencing / Structuring
because of/ as/ since/ due to/owing to/for/ ...
so/as a result/ therefore/consequently/ ...
in order (not) to / so/so that/ so as(not) to/ ...
even though/ but/ however/ while/nevertheless/ yet/ although/ inspite of/ despite/ though/whereas/ still/ ...
on the contrary/ even so/ ...
and/ too/ moreover/ also/furthermore/ in addition to/besides/ ...
for instance/ for example/inparticular/ ...
similarly/ in the same way/likewise/ like/ equally/ ...
on the whole/ in some cases/ ingeneral/ in all / many/ most/broadly speaking/ ...
firstly/ secondly/ lastly, etc./ firstof all/ finally/ to begin with/ tostart with/ meanwhile/ then/after/ subsequently/ ...
A table showing commonly used Cohesive devices for different func-tions are given below. You may add more.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
2 8
Let’s practise
r Choose the correct cohesive devices from the box given to
complete the sentences. Each one is to be used only once.
moreover firstly
on the other hand whereas
at last then
however actually
besides though
1. I had a terrible day at work and lost my umbrella too.
______ I spoke to that nice guy who works in the coffee
shop.
2. Television turns people into lazy couch potatoes. ______,
there are some educational programmes on.
3. ______, I would like to welcome you all to the conference
today.
4. ______ the film was a little boring, we still had a nice
evening out.
5. I've always known Caroline as a miser. ______, she lent
me 1000 yesterday without my having to ask twice!
6. I got up at 9 o'clock yesterday and had a cold shower.
______, I had breakfast and left for work.
7. My brother works in a large office ______ I work on my
own at home.
8. Why do you think I don't want to go out tonight? ______,
I would be delighted to get out of the house.
9. You should participate in the school youth festival as it
gives you a chance to meet many people. ______, it gives
you an opportunity to showcase your talents.
10. I don't want to go to the football game. Football bores me
and I don't want to pay 40 for a ticket. ______, look at
the weather! All that rain!
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
2 9
Activity VIII (Collocation)
r Look at the expressions used in the biography of Stephen Hawking.
‘Stephen Hawking has overcome his crippling disease to become the
supernova of world physics.’
The words in italics go together. In other words, crippling collocates
with disease.
Given below are a set of collocations which can be used to express
‘success’:
crowning achievement/ dramatic improvement/ made a
breakthrough/ brilliant success/ enjoy the fruits of hard
work/ brought out the best/ won the respect of/ remarkable
achievement
Let’s practise
Arun’s teacher is talking about his merit and achievement
to his parents while giving the end-of-term report. Imagine
what the teacher would say, and complete the sentences
using suitable collocations from those given in the box above.
Arun has ______ in Maths this year, doing excellent work
compared to last year. It is, of course, a ______ on his part.
This year has seen a ______ in Arun’s English.
His ______ is his performance in the school’s staging of
‘Othello’.
He has found some effective ways
of working with natural materials
this year, and his self-portrait is
a ______
He is now able to ______. Playing
for the school cricket team has
certainly ______ in him and he
rightly ______ of all his teammates.
Collocation is the way in
which some words are used
together or in combination.
e.g. ‘commit a crime’ is a
standard collocation in
English. (‘Did a crime’ is not.)
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
3 0
IF
Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream − and not make dreams your master;
If you can think − and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings − nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And − which is more − you’ll be a Man, my son!
We have read about a few great personalities and identified some
of the qualities of greatness. ‘If’ is a didactic poem which suggests
the idea of conditional fulfillment, where the poet describes the
traits of the perfect man. Enjoy reading the poem.
IV. Read and enjoy:
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
3 1
Glossary:
build ’em up : build them up
impostor (n) : a person who pretends tobe someone else
knave (n) : a dishonest man
making allowance for
their doubting : understand their doubts
sinew (n) : (here) something thatgives strength or support
Activity I (Read and respond)
m The first stanza of ‘If’ speaks about the need for self-confidence.Do you agree? Why?
m What does the poet say about patience?
m Explain the poet’s views on honesty and fortitude of character.
m Lines 5-7 speak about the need for righteous behaviour in theface of unrighteousness. How far do you agree?
m What is the poet’s approach to dreams and longings?
m The poet believes that success comes from self-control and atrue sense of the value of things. Express your views on this.
m ‘Never breathe a word about your loss.’ What impression do youget about the poet when you read this?
m What is the message conveyed in the last stanza of the poem?
Activity II (Read and reflect)
m What is the central theme of the poem?
m What, according to the poem, are the two impostors in life?
m What, according to the poet, should be one’s attitude to unex-pected loss?
m What is the poem about? (Consider the speaker, theme, symbols,comparisons, contrasts and conflicts)
m Identify the poetic forms, figurative language and poeticstructure.
m When the poet says, ‘If you can dream − and not make dreamsyour master,’ he is personifying dreams. i.e. dreams are spokenof as masters who can control our lives. In this case, dreamsassume a human role/quality.
About the Author
Joseph RudyardKipling (1865–1936),an English short-storywriter, poet, andnovelist, is chieflyremembered for his talesand poems of Britishsoldiers in India and histales for children.
Kipling’s ‘If,’ perhaps his most famouspoem, attracted immediate nationwideattention, and it soon became a popularanthem.
Your teacher will help you to listen to therecitation of the poem.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
3 2
Personification means giving
human traits and qualities to an
inanimate object.
Metaphor is a figure of speech that
describes a subject by asserting
that it is, at some point of
comparison, the same as another,
otherwise, unrelated object.
Symbol is an object that
represents an idea, image or an
action.
Pick out the other expressions wherethe poet uses personification.
m ‘Unforgiving minutes’ is a metaphoricexpression as it refers to time thatwaits for no man; it is like a racewhere every second is important.
Now, identify other metaphoric ex-pressions used in the poem.
m What do knaves represent?
What other symbols are used in thepoem ‘If’?
Activity III (Appreciation)
r Based on the responses you have got, prepare an appreciation of
the poem ‘If’ (Consider theme, language, style, figures, symbols,
relevance, etc.).
The following tips will help you prepare an appreciation of the poem.
Introductionabout the poet
theme
meaning
Brief summary implied meaning (if any)
structure
sound effects(rhyme, alliteration, assonance etc.)
images
Poetic devices symbols (if any)
language
mood
figures of speech
Conclusionmessage/intention of the poet
personal comments/opinions
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
3 3
Let’s practise
Would you like to know the story of ‘The Cat and the Mouse.’
Complete the conditional sentences to get the full story.
Once upon a time, a cat bit a mouse’s tail off. ‘Give me back my
tail,’ said the mouse. And the cat said, ‘Well, I would give (give)
your tail back, if you fetched me some milk. But that’s impossible
for a little mouse like you.’
The mouse, however, went to a cow. ‘The cat will only give (give/
only) me back my tail if I fetch her some milk.’
Activity IV (Conditionals/ If clause)
r The poem 'If' is explicitly an exploration of the 'If clause.' As the
'If clauses refer to condition, they are called conditional clauses.
You may examine the If clauses in the poem and write them
below.
Conditional
clauses
Tense
If clause Main clauseNature Example
Firstconditional
If +present
Will / shall /can / may +infinitive
Opencondition
• If you work with confidence,you will succeed.
• If you get here before eight,we shall catch the early train.
Secondconditional
If + past Would /should /could / might+ infinitive
Unlikely to befulfilled
• If I worked with confidence Iwould succeed.
• If I knew her name, I wouldtell you.
Thirdconditional
If + pastperfect
Unreal pastsituation
• If you had gone there, youcould have met him.
• If I had worked withconfidence, I would havesucceeded.
• If you can keep your head whenall about you are losing theirs.......
• ....................................................
• ....................................................
• Yours is the earth and everythingthat is in it.......You'll be a man, my son.
• ....................................................
• ....................................................
If clause (Subsidiary clause) Main clause
Usually there are three common patterns with 'If' which are often
called first, second and third conditionals.
Would /should /could / might+ have + pastparticiple
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
3 4
And the cow said, ‘Well, I would give you some milk, if you ____
(get) me some hay. But that’s impossible for a little mouse like
you.’
The mouse, however, went to a farmer. ‘The cat will only give my
tail back if the cow ____ (give) me some milk. And the cow ____
(only/ give) me some milk if I get her some hay.’
And the farmer said, ‘Well, I would give you some hay if you ____
(bring) me some meat. But that’s impossible for a little mouse like
you.’
The mouse, however, went to a butcher. ‘The cat will only give my
tail back if the cow ____ (give) me some milk. And the cow will
only give me some milk if she ____ (get) some hay. And the farmer
____ (only/ give) me some hay if I get him some meat.’
And the butcher said, ‘Well, I would give you some meat if you
____ (make) the baker bake me a loaf of bread. But that’s impossible
for a little mouse like you.’
The mouse, however, went to a baker. ‘The cat ____ (give/ only)
my tail back if I fetch her some milk. And the cow ____ (give/ not)
me some milk if I don’t get her some hay. And the farmer will only
give me some hay if the butcher ____ (have) some meat for him.
And the butcher will not give me some meat if you ____ (bake/
not) him a loaf of bread.’
And the baker said, ‘Well, I ____ (give) you a loaf of bread if you
promise never to steal my corn or meal.’
The mouse promised not to steal, and so the baker gave the mouse
a loaf of bread; the mouse gave the butcher the bread. The butcher
gave the mouse some meat; the mouse gave the farmer the meat.
The farmer gave the mouse some hay; the mouse gave the cow
the hay. The cow gave the mouse some milk; the mouse gave the
cat the milk. And the cat gave the mouse her tail back.
But imagine what would have happened otherwise:
If the mouse had not promised (promise/ not) never to steal the
corn or meal, the baker would not have given (not/give) the mouse
the bread.
If the baker ____ (not/ give) the mouse the bread, the butcher
____ (refuse) to give her the meat for the farmer.
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
3 5
Activity I (Read and respond)
r Read the extract from the newspaper article.
TEACHER’S PRIDE
Many of the old teachers of the University College in the city would havefelt a thrill of pride and joy, on reading in the newspapers the news thattheir old student Arun M. Kumar has been selected by President Obamato a very important post in his government. Arun is now Assistant Secretaryand Director General of the United States and Foreign CommercialService, International Trade Administration, in the Department ofCommerce. The President has spoken appreciatively of the new team hehas chosen.
A rare honour, indeed, and a well-deserved recognition of merit. Arundid his three-year undergraduate course in Physics in the University College.I taught that class their English prose. It was a very bright class, with someof the students brilliant without any self-consciousness of their brilliance.And Arun was among the most brilliant. Well-read in many subjects, keenin understanding, quick, sensitive, and cultured beyond his years in hisresponses, it was a privilege and a pleasure to have him in my class, andsometimes, to discuss things with him outside the class. Over the years, ashis mind matured, his sense of language had become fine – a sure pointerto deeper changes. Confined to my academic pursuits, I know little aboutthe wider world of Arun’s enterprises. To see him trusted with the intricateproblems of international finance is enough to make me feel that his choicesand decisions were right.
Arun and his friends were responsible for starting the Science Society ofTrivandrum for the benefit of school children. It has done a lot of goodto school students, both in terms of financial help and academic training.
If the butcher ______ (refuse) her any meat, the farmer ______
(not be) willing to give the mouse the hay.
If the farmer ______ (not/ be) willing to give the mouse the hay, the
mouse ____ (not/ receive) the milk from the cow.
If the mouse ____ (not/ receive) the milk from the cow, she ____
(not/ get) back her tail.
Extended Activities
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
3 6
Activity III (Documentary)
r Watch the documentary on Stephen Hawking and prepare apresentation on the life and works of an eminent person whohas overcome many obstacles/difficulties and become successfulin life.
Activity IV (Collection)
r Collect inspiring speeches (both script and audio/video) of greatpersons like Martin Luther King, Swami Vivekananda, WinstonChurchill, Jawaharlal Nehru, etc. Make a presentation based onthe common factors in the speeches.
Activity II (Cohesive devices --- Practice)
r Fill in the blanks using the appropriate cohesive device from theones given in brackets.
1. All the assignments should be submitted on time. ________, theywill not be evaluated.
( therefore, otherwise, on the contrary)
2. The price of petrol has gone up considerably in the last few years.
________, the sale of cars has not seen any decrease.
(in addition to, therefore, however)
3. Cycling is a good exercise. ________, it helps you to save money.
(however, moreover, consequently)
4. Desktop computers are cheaper and more reliable than laptops;
________, they last longer.
(whereas, furthermore, alternatively)
5. There is a stiff competition between mobile phone companies to
win customers. ________, they are slashing prices to attractcustomers.(as a result, in contrast, in conclusion)
You have now read an extract from the article written byProf. B. Hrdayakumari about Mr Arun M. Kumar, her former student, whowas nominated by Mr Barack Obama, (the President of USA) to a key
administrative post.
r This is an unusual excerpt wherein a teacher makes anassessment of a student after several years. Don't you thinkthat each of your classmates has his/ her own special qualities?List out the qualities that you have noticed.
r Now, based on your findings, prepare an article on your views ofan ideal person, for your school magazine.
Unit - 1 GLIMPSES OF GREATNESS
3 7
Students demonstrate the ability to
• face challenges and emerge successful even against limitationsand hardships.
• Overcome hardships.
• present their views to others.
• develop qualities needed for an ideal personality.
Thematic outcomes
Students demonstrate the ability to
• speak and express their views in a speech, group discussion,etc.
• write reviews, appreciations, profiles, newspaper and magazinearticles, letters, e-mails, etc.
• prepare questions and interview others.
• participate actively in group discussions.
• read and comprehend a given story or reading material andprepare notes on it in the form of a tree diagram, timeline,short points, etc.
• use cohesive devices and collocations appropriately.
• use conditionals effectively.
• browse the Internet for additional information.
Linguistic outcomes
The major learning outcomes of this unit are listed below.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
3 8
The theme of this unit is the necessity of the symbiotic
relationship between words and deeds. The unit aims at
inculcating the right values through a few examples. It consists
of the essay 'And Then Gandhi Came' by Jawaharlal Nehru; the
story 'The Price of Flowers', written by Prabhat Kumar
Mukhopadhyay, and translated by Lila Ray; and the poem 'Death
the Leveller', by James Shirley.
The texts and the activities are designed to help the learners
imbibe the values of good citizenship. They enable them to acquire
a strong linguistic foundation that will improve their application
of the language in other contexts.
About the Unit
Keep your thoughts positivebecause your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positivebecause your words become your behaviour.
- Mahatma Gandhi
2Unit
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
3 9
r Deeds must be an execution of words. Mahatma Gandhi, theFather of our Nation, was true to his words in his deeds. His lifewas, in fact, his message.
In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote thus about Gandhiji, on hisseventieth birthday:
m What impression of Gandhiji do you get from the brief
description given above? Discuss.
m What kind of a 'fighter' is Gandhiji?
m 'One must practise what one preaches'. How far is the
statement true of Mahatma Gandhi?
Mahatma Gandhi
A leader of his people,unsupported by any outwardauthority; a politician whosesuccess rests not upon craft northe mastery of technicaldevices, but simply on theconvincing power of hispersonality; a victorious fighterwho has always scorned the use
of force; a man of wisdom andhumility, armed with resolveand inflexible consistency, whohas devoted all his strength tothe uplifting of his people andthe betterment of their lot; aman who has confronted thebrutality of Europe with thedignity of the simple humanbeing, and thus, at all times risensuperior.
Generations to come, it may be,will scarce believe that such aone as this, ever in flesh andblood, walked upon this earth.
Let’s begin:
Let’s discuss
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
4 0
AND THEN GANDHI CAME
....World War I ended at last, and the peace, instead of
bringing us relief and progress, brought us repressive
legislation and martial law in the Punjab. A bitter sense
of humiliation and a passionate anger filled our people.
We had become a derelict nation. Yet what could we do,
how to change this vicious process? We seemed to be
helpless in the grip of some all-powerful
monster; our limbs were paralysed, our minds
deadened. Large numbers of people, cut off from the land
and incapable of any kind of manual or technical work,
joined the swelling army of the unemployed,
and helpless, hopeless, sank ever deeper into
the morass. They did not know where to look, for neither
the old nor the new offered them any hope.
What could we do? How could we pull India out of this
quagmire of poverty and defeatism? Not for a few years of
excitement and agony and suspense, but for long
generations our people had offered their 'blood and toil,
tears and sweat.' And this process had eaten its way deep
into the body and soul of India, poisoning every aspect of
our life....
And then Gandhi came. He was like a powerful current of
fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take deep
breaths; like a beam of light that pierced the
darkness and removed the scales from our
eyes; like a whirlwind that upset many things,
but most of all the working of people's minds. He did not
descend from the top; he seemed to emerge from the
millions of India, speaking their language.
‘Get off the backs of these peasants and workers’, he told
us, ‘all of you who live by their exploitation; get rid of the
system that produces this poverty and misery’. Political
• What is referred to as the
‘all powerful monster?’
• What was the impact of
the First World War?
• What does Nehru mean by
‘And then Gandhi came’...?
I. Read and reflect:
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru writes about the timely arrival of Gandhiji to
Indian politics, when the country was in dire need of such a
leadership. Gandhiji was like a beam of light that removed the
darkness. Jawaharlal Nehru makes a right assessment of
Gandhiji in his 'Discovery of India' . Read the excerpt.
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
4 1
freedom took a new shape then and acquired a new
content. Much that he said we only partially
accepted or sometimes did not accept at all.
But all this was secondary. The essence of his teaching
was fearlessness and truth, and action allied to these,
always keeping the welfare of the masses in view. The
greatest gift for an individual or a nation, so we had been
told in our ancient books, was abhaya
(fearlessness), not merely bodily courage but
the absence of fear from the mind. The
dominant impulse in India under British rule was that of
fear -- pervasive, oppressing, strangling fear; fear of the
army, the police, the widespread secret service; fear of
the official class; fear of laws meant to suppress and of
prison; fear of the landlord's agent; fear of the
moneylender; fear of unemployment and starvation, which
were always on the threshold. It was against this all-
pervading fear that Gandhi's quiet and
determined voice was raised: Be not afraid.
Was it so simple as all that? Not quite. And yet, fear builds
its phantoms which are more fearsome than reality itself,
and reality, when calmly analysed and its consequences
willingly accepted, loses much of its terror.
So, suddenly, as it were, that black pall of fear was lifted
from the people's shoulders, not wholly of course, but to
an amazing degree. As fear is close companion to falsehood,
so truth follows fearlessness. The Indian people did not
become much more truthful than they were,
nor did they change their essential nature
overnight; nevertheless, a sea change was
visible as the need for falsehood and furtive behaviour
lessened. It was a psychological change, almost as if some
expert in psycho-analytical methods had probed deep into
the patient's past, found out the origins of his complexes,
exposed them to his view, and thus rid him of that burden.
There was the psychological reaction also, a feeling of
shame at our long submission to an alien rule that had
degraded and humiliated us, and a desire to
submit no longer, whatever the consequences
might be. We did not grow much more truthful
perhaps than we had been previously, but
• What did Gandhiji exhort
the people to do?
• What did Gandhiji do to
remove fear from the
minds of the people?
• What was the essence of
Gandhiji’s teaching?
• Why was Gandhiji
compared to a
psychologist?
• What does the word
‘abhaya’ mean?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
4 2
Gandhi was always there as a symbol of uncompromising
truth to pull us up and shame us into truth.
What is truth? I do not know for certain, and perhaps our
truths are relative and absolute truth is beyond us.
Different persons may and do take different views of truth,
and each individual is powerfully influenced by his own
background, training, and impulses. So also
Gandhi. But truth is, at least for an individual,
what he himself feels and knows to be true. According to
this definition, I do not know of any person who holds to
the truth as Gandhi does. That is a dangerous quality in
a politician, for he speaks out his mind and even lets the
public see its changing phases.
Gandhi influenced millions of people in India in varying
degrees. Some changed the whole texture of their lives,
others were only partly affected, or the effect
wore off; and yet not quite, for some part of it
could not be wholly shaken off. Different
people reacted differently and each will give his own
answer to this question.
His call of action was two-fold. There was, of course, the
action involved in challenging and resisting foreign rule;
there was also the action which led us to fight against
our own social evils. Apart from the fundamental objective
of the Congress − the freedom of India − and
the method of peaceful action, the principal
planks of the Congress were national unity,
which involved the solution of the minority problems, and
the raising of the depressed classes, and the ending of
the curse of untouchability.
Realizing that the main props of British rule were fear,
prestige, the co-operation of the people, and certain
classes whose vested interests were centred in British
rule, Gandhi attacked these foundations. Titles were to
be given up and though the title-holders
responded to this only in small measure, the
popular respect for these British-given titles
disappeared. New standards and values were set up and
the pomp and splendour of the viceregal court and the
princes suddenly appeared supremely ridiculous. Rich men
• How did Gandhiji
influence the people of
India?
• What was the two-fold
action involved in
Gandhiji’s exhortation?
• What was the visible
change in the value system
of the country?
• What, according to
Gandhiji, was truth?
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
4 3
were not so anxious to flaunt their riches; outwardly at
least, many of them adopted simpler ways, and in their
dress, became almost indistinguishable from humbler folk.
He sent us to the villages, and the countryside hummed
with the activity of innumerable messengers of the new
gospel of action. The peasant was shaken up and he began
to emerge from his shell. The effect on us was different
but equally far-reaching, for we saw, for the first time as
it were, the villager in the intimacy of his mud-
hut, and with the stark shadow of hunger
always pursuing him. We learnt our Indian economics more
from these visits than from books and learned discourses.
The emotional experience we had already undergone was
emphasized and confirmed, and henceforward, there could
be no going back for us to our old life or our old standards.
What was the idea of India which he was setting out to
mould according to his own wishes and ideals?
‘I shall work for an India in which the poorest shall feel
that it is their country, in whose making they have an
effective voice, an India in which there shall be no high
class and low class of people, an India in which all
communities shall live in perfect harmony.... There can
be no room in such an India for the curse of untouchability
or the curse of intoxicating drinks and drugs.... Women
will enjoy the same right as men.... This is
the India of my dreams.’ Proud of his Hindu
inheritance as he was, he tried to give to
Hinduism a kind of universal attire and included all
religions within the fold of truth. He refused to narrow
his cultural inheritance. 'Indian culture,' he wrote, 'is
neither Hindu, Islamic, nor any other, wholly. It is a fusion
of all.' Again he said: 'I want the culture of all
lands to be blown about my house as freely as
possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet
by any. I refuse to live in other peoples' houses
as an interloper, a beggar, or a slave.' Influenced by modern
thought currents, he never let go of his roots and clung to
them tenaciously.
It is not surprising that this astonishingly vital man, full
of self-confidence and an unusual kind of power, standing
• What was the India of
Gandhiji’s dream?
• What was the influence of
Gandhiji in the villages?
• What, according to
Gandhiji, was the essential
culture of India?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
4 4
for equality and freedom for each individual, fascinated
the masses of India and attracted them like a magnet. He
seemed to them to link up the past with the future and to
make the dismal present appear just as a
stepping-stone to that future of life and hope....
Thus he effected a vast psychological
revolution not only among those who followed
his lead but also among his opponents and those many
neutrals who could not make up their minds what to think
and what to do.
(Adapted)(An excerpt from Jawaharlal Nehru's ‘The Discovery of India’)
• What was the
psychological revolution
that Gandhiji brought
about?
About the Author
Jawaharlal Nehru(14 November 1889 - 27May 1964) was the firstPrime Minister of India.Jawaharlal Nehru
promoted democracy, socialism,secularism and unity, while adaptingmodern values to Indian conditions.Nehru was a prolific writer in Englishand wrote a number of books, such asThe Discovery of India, Glimpses of WorldHistory, and An Autobiography. In 1955,Nehru was awarded the Bharat Ratna,India's highest civilian honour.
Glossary:
agony (n) : extreme physical or
mental pain
derelict (adj) : not cared for
dismal (adj) : gloomy
flaunt (v) : to show something you are
proud of to others
furtive (adj) : secret
interloper (n) : intruder
monster (n) : a creature that is very ugly
and frightening
morass (n) : a complicated situation
that is difficult to escape
from
phantom (n) : frightening vision
prop (v) : support
quagmire (n) : a difficult and dangerous
situation
repressive (adj) : controlling people by force
strangle (v) : to kill by pressing on the throat
threshold (n) : door step
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
4 5
Activity I (Note making)
Make a note of the above passage. Read the passage again andcomplete the following.
Have you completed the note? Now, prepare a summary of the passage.
The uncertaincondition of
India
saw political freedomtaking a new shape
removed the black pallof fear
.......................
.......................
.......................
challenging andresisting foreign rule
.......................
The arrival ofGandhiji
His teachingsand methods
His two-foldaction
The mouldingof India,
according toGandhiji’s wishes
and ideas
The amazingqualities of
Gandhiji
humiliation
.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................
.......................
minority problem
even the poorest shall feelthat it is their country
all communities shall live inperfect harmony
.......................
.......................
fearlessness
truth
.......................
.......................
.......................
full of self confidence
unusual kind of power
.......................
.......................
m
m
m
m
m
m
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
4 6
Activity II (Think and write)
r How did Gandhiji enlighten the freedom fighters? What kind of aleadership did Gandhiji take? What was the effect of hisleadership?
Answer in a paragraph of about 100 words.
Activity III (Speech)
r In connection with Gandhi Jayanthi, your school is organizing aprogramme to propagate the relevance of Gandhian values in thepresent day. Prepare and deliver a speech before the class.
Tips for public speaking
• body language/posture
• eye contact
• voice modulation
• pause
• gesture
• pronunciation
• logical development
• clarity of presentation
• illustrations and examples
• comprehensiveness of content
Activity IV (Group discussion)
'Women will enjoy the same right as men…
This is the India of my dreams', Gandhiji said.
There is a role for each individual citizen, society and political partyto ensure equal rights to women. Conduct a group discussion on thetopic.
Hints
• Peace
• Fearlessness
• Truthfulness
• Influence
• ...............................
• ...............................
• ...............................
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
4 7
Activity V (Letter to the editor)
Here is the sample of a letter to the editor expressing an individual’sconcern over a common issue. Examine it carefully.
A Letter to the Editor
From
Nandini P.Nilakkal HouseMRA - 347, Jawahar LaneBangalore -3
15 June 2014
To
The EditorThe XanaduHyderabad
Sir,
I am writing this letter to express my concern about
the article, ‘English should not be taught up to ClassX' (May 25th), by Mr. Santha Rao. I wonder what made
him write such an article. How can one ignore therole of English in a fast developing world? From his
article, I understand that he has some hidden
agenda. In this fast developing world, even an ordinaryperson thinks about giving better education to his or
her children. English is being taught in the
Saksharatha classes as well. The medium ofinstruction for various courses at a higher level of
education is English. I strongly believe that English
is the only global language and the language of scienceand technology. It should be taught right from the
lower classes.
Yours truly
(Sd/-)
Nandini P.
Sender’saddress
Addressee
Salutation
Reasonfor writing
the letter
Feelingsand
arguments
Suggestion/opinion
Date
Subscription
r Now, refer to three national dailies of a week, and collect reports
on instances where women are deprived of their rights, and analyse
how the issues related to women are presented.
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper, about the way in
which women’s issues are presented.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
4 8
Activity VI (Concord)
r Look at the following sentence from the given passage.
‘Different people react differently and each gives his/her ownanswer to the question.’
Here, ‘each’ agrees with a singular verb.
Generally, a singular subject agrees with a singular verb and a
plural subject agrees with a plural verb. However, a deeper
understanding of agreement (concord) will help us to write
correctly when certain nouns, phrases or combinations of nouns
come in the subject position.
Language Tips
m When a singular subject and a plural subject are joined byeither...or, neither...nor, etc., the verb agrees with the sub-ject nearer to it.e.g. Ram or his brothers go home every month.
m When two subjects are joined by ‘as well as,’ ‘more than,’ and‘as much as,’ the verb agrees with the first subject.
e.g. The girls, as well as their teacher, have left.
m When two subjects are joined by ‘with,’ ‘along with,’ ‘togetherwith,’ ‘in the company of,’ ‘in addition to,’ ‘besides,’ ‘accompa-nied by,’ etc., the verb agrees with the first subject.
e.g. My friend, with all his students, has arrived.
m One of/each of/everyone of/either/neither of + plural noun(pronoun) carries a singular verb.
e.g. One of the players was selected for the national team.
m When every or each is used with two singular subjects con-nected by and, we use a singular verb.
e.g. Every school and college has a playground.
m A (good/great) deal (of) + singular noun + singular verb.
e.g. A good deal of time was wasted on this case.
m When ‘one’ means ‘anyone’, ‘everyone’, it is called the ‘indefi-nite one.’ The indefinite one is not usually replaced by anyother pronoun.e.g. One should do one’s duty for one’s country.
m Expressions like ‘five pounds’, ‘ten rupees’, ‘two weeks’, ‘threemiles’, etc. are singular when they are thought of as indicat-ing a single amount, period or distance.e.g. Five rupees is not a big sum.
Three weeks is not a long time.
Note : For the management of space, the editor may edit your letter,
omitting the address and other unnecessary details. But when
you draft a letter to the editor, you should write your full name
and address.
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
4 9
m ‘A lot (of)’ takes a singular verb when it denotes amount, and aplural verb when it denotes number.e.g. A lot of money is spent on construction.
A lot of petitions have been received.m Nouns like ‘furniture, machinery, equipment, traffic, luggage,
crockery, cutlery, clothing’, etc. are called class collectives.Though plural in meaning, they are singular in form, and arefollowed by singular verbs.e.g. The furniture was bought from Italy.
m Plural words and phrases used as the titles of books takesingular verbs.e.g. Great Expectations is one of Dickens’ great novels.
m The determiners ‘this’ and ‘that’ go with singular nouns, and‘these’ and ‘those’ with plural nouns.
e.g. This girl speaks English better than these boys.
Choose the correct alternative.
1. Either Rajesh or his friends come. (has, have)
2. Neither of us coffee. (likes, like)
3. The boy, along with the tourists, gone. (has, have)
4. Five miles not a short distance. (are, is)
5. Everyone of you to attend the meeting. (have, has)
Correct the following sentences.
1. Each of the employees are working hard.
2. One of the students are absent today.
3. Neither Lal nor his relatives has arrived.
4. One of us have brought a globe.
5. Neither the man nor his wife are very careful.
6. The books placed on the table needs binding.
7. There is a lot of people waiting outside.
8. The police is closely watching all his movements.
9. The price of vegetables are going up.
10. Keep all the luggages in the cloak room.
Activity VII (Wordfinder)
r Look at the following sentence from the passage:
Gandhiji was ‘like a beam of light that pierced the darkness and
removed the scales from our eyes....’
Do you know the exact meaning of the word ‘pierce’ ?
Let’s see how the meaning of this word is given in the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
5 0
Word Part of Meaning Sentences
speech
convince .....................................
pervasive .....................................
attires .....................................
dismal .....................................
vicious .....................................
m What are the items given in this entry?
• Spelling• Pronunciation /........../• ..........................• ..........................
• ..........................
m The meaning of the word ‘pierce’ in this context is the secondone given in the dictionary i.e., ‘to be suddenly seen orheard’. You can also take note of the sentence given after the
meaning.
We can make use of a dictionary to check the
• spelling • pronunciation
• meaning • usage
• word stress • word class
• derivatives • phrasal verbs
A word has a variety of meanings - literal, contextual and so on.
It is the context that determines the exact meaning of a word.
I. The words given below are taken from the passage.
Refer to a dictionary and find out the meaning and the parts of speechof the following words and make your own sentences.
pierce/pI s; AmE pIrs/ verb 1~ (through) sth to make a small hole insth, or to go through sth, with a sharp object: [VN] The arrow piercedhis shoulder. t He pierced another hole in his belt with his knife.t to have your ears/ nose pierced (= to have a small hole made inyour ears /nose so that you can wear jewellery there) t (figurative)She was pierced to the heart with guilt. t [V] The knife piercedthrough his coat. 2~ (through) sth (literary) (of light, sound, etc.) tobe suddenly seen or heard: [VN] Sirens pierced the silence of thenight t Shafts of sunlight pierced the heavy mist. [also V] 3~(through) sth to force a way through a barrier: [VN] They failed topierce the Liverpool defence. [also V]
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
5 1
THE PRICE OF FLOWERS
Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay
It was nearly one o' clock and I was feeling extremely
hungry. So, I made my way slowly to a vegetarian
restaurant which was not far away, in St. Martin's Lane.
Lunch hours in London restaurants were not so crowded
in those days.
I found not more than three or four hungry people scattered
around the room. I chose a table, seated myself and opened
the newspaper.
A waitress came up and waited politely for my order. I
raised my eyes from the paper, glanced at the menu and
told her what I required. 'Thank you, sir,' she said and
went briskly and noiselessly away.
At that moment, my attention was drawn to a table not
far from mine. A young English girl was sitting there. She
had been watching me with interested surprise but turned
her eyes away as soon as I looked at her.
The girl was thirteen or fourteen years old.
Her clothes betrayed her poverty. Her hair
hung in a heavy stream down her back. Her
eyes were large. They had a sad expression. I watched
her when she was not looking so that she would not notice.
My lunch was served as she was finishing hers. The
waitress brought her the bill. Bills are paid at the desk as
one goes out. The desk is near the door.
The girl stood up. My eyes followed her. As
she paid her bill, she asked the cashier in a
low voice, 'Please, Miss, can you tell me if that gentleman
is an Indian?'
'I think so,' the cashier answered.
'Does he come here all the time? '
'Perhaps not. I do not recall having seen him before.'
• Why was the narrator’s
attention drawn to the
English girl?
• What is your impression of
the girl?
II. Read and reflect:
The bonds of human relationship are very strong. They are so
complex that it is difficult for us to explain. Words and deeds
have a soothing effect and they cement the bonds of relationship.
Here is a story about the impact of words. Read on.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
5 2
'Thank you,' said the girl and looked at me once more
with a startled air and went out.
It surprised me. Why? What was the matter?
Her interest in me aroused my interest in
her. When I had finished my lunch, I asked
the waitress, 'Do you know the girl who was
sitting over there?'
'No, sir, I do not know her, to speak of. I’ve noticed she
has lunch here on Saturdays.'
'Doesn't she come on any other day?'
'I never see her on other days.'
‘Have you any idea who she is? '
'Perhaps she works in a nearby shop.'
'How do you know? '
‘Saturday is pay day. That is when she comes. On other
days, she may not be able to afford lunch.
Perhaps, she does not earn very much.'
I was moved by what she said.
The curiosity I felt about the girl persisted.
Who was the child? Why had she inquired about me? Was
some mystery the cause of her interest? Her poverty-
stricken, sad and anxious figure took possession of my
thoughts. On Sundays, all London shops are
closed. So, I set out to look for her after
breakfast, on Monday morning. I looked into
the shops on the streets near St. Martin's
Lane, and especially, the shops on the Strand, but I found
no trace of the girl.
The week passed. Saturday came again. I
presented myself at the vegetarian restaurant
once more. As I entered, I saw her sitting at
the same table as before. She was eating. I walked up
and took the chair opposite hers, saying, 'Good afternoon!'
'Good afternoon, sir,' she responded hesitantly.
By making one brief remark after another, I was able,
slowly, to start a conversation. At last she asked, ' Are
you an Indian?'
'Yes.'
'Excuse me, are you a vegetarian?'
• How do you know that the
girl was interested in
knowing the identity of the
narrator?
• What do you understand
about the probable
financial condition of the
girl?
• Why was the narrator
curious about the girl?
What did he do to meet her?
• Why did the narrator go to
the restaurant again?
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
5 3
'Why do you ask that? '
'I have heard that most Indians are vegetarians.'
'How is it that you know anything about India? '
'My elder brother is in India. He is a soldier.'
'I am not much of a vegetarian,' I answered her question,
'but I enjoy a vegetarian meal, now and then.' The girl
seemed disappointed.
I learned that her only guardian was this elder brother.
She lived with her old widowed mother.
'Do you hear from your brother?'
'We have not had a letter from him for a long time. My
mother is very worried. People tell her that
India is full of tigers and snakes and fevers.
She is afraid something has happened to him.
Is it true, sir, that India is full of tigers and snakes and
fevers?'
'No,' I smiled, 'how could people live there if it were?' The
girl sighed softly. 'Mother says she would like to ask an
Indian about these things if she can find an Indian,' the
girl looked at me with eyes full of entreaty.
I understood how she felt. She wanted me to see her
mother, but she did not have the courage to ask me to
accompany her home. A keen desire to meet this poor
anxious mother took hold of me. I had not had the
opportunity to visit an impoverished English home. I wished
to see how the poor lived in this country, to know what
they think.
'Will you introduce me to your mother some time? Would
you like me to accompany you home? I can go some day.'
The girl's eyes brimmed with gratitude. 'Thank you ever
so much!' she said. 'It is so kind of you! Can you come
now?'
'With pleasure.'
'It will not interfere with anything else you have to do?'
'No, no, not at all. This afternoon is entirely my own.'
The girl was delighted. We finished our lunch and got up
together.
• What impression did the
girl have about India?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
5 4
As we walked, I asked her, ‘May I know your name?'
'My name is Alice Margaret Clifford.'
'Would you mind walking ?' she asked.
' Not at all,' I answered,' if it is not difficult for you.'
' No, I walk home every day.'
I asked the girl, ' Do you come this way often?'
'Yes,' she answered,' I work as a typist in the Civil Service
stores. Every afternoon, I come home this way. Today is
Saturday, so I am off early.'
'Shall I call you Miss Clifford or Alice? '
'I am not grown-up yet. You may call me what you like.
I am usually called Maggie.' She laughed.
'Are you very anxious to grow up?'
'Yes.'
'Tell me why.'
'When I grow up, I shall be paid more for my
work. My mother is old.'
'Is the work you do to your liking?'
'No. The work is very mechanical. I want work
that will make me use my head, brain work.
Like the work of a secretary.'
We crossed the bridge and arrived in Lambeth. It is a poor
neighbourhood. 'If I ever become a secretary,' Maggie said,
'1 shall take mother away from here.'
'Did your father call you Maggie or Magsy?'
'When he was very affectionate he called me Magsy. How
did you know?'
'Yes, yes,' I answered mysteriously, 'we are Indians, you
know. We know about the future and all kinds of magic.'
'That is what I have heard,' she said.
'Indeed?' I was surprised. 'What have you heard?'
'I have heard that there are many people in India who
have occult powers. They are called yogis. But you are not
a yogi.'
'How do you know that I am not a yogi, Maggie?'
• Was Maggie satisfied with
her job? If not why?
• What do you understand
by ‘brain work’?
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
5 5
'Yogis do not eat meat.'
'Is that why you asked me in the beginning
whether I am a vegetarian or not?'
She smiled without answering.
We had reached a narrow doorway. Maggie took a thin
latch key out of her pocket and opened the door. She
entered and said, 'Please come in'.
When I was inside, Maggie closed the door. She went to
the foot of the stairs and, raising her voice a little, called,
'Mother, where are you?'
'I am in the kitchen, child,' the answer came from below.
‘Come down.'
It is necessary to explain here that London streets are
above ground. Kitchens are often below street level.
Maggie looked at me questioningly, 'Do you mind?'
'Not in the least. Come on.' I said.
Together we descended the stairs to the kitchen.
'Mother,' said Maggie from the doorway,' an Indian
gentleman has come to see you.'
'Where is he?' the old woman asked eagerly.
With a smile I stepped into the kitchen behind
Maggie. She introduced us. 'This is Mr Gupta, mother,'
she said, 'Mr Gupta, my mother.'
'How do you do?' I said and held out my hand.
'Excuse me, my hands-' she said, holding them out for me
to see. They were covered with flour. 'Today
is Saturday,' she explained, 'I am making
cakes. People will come to buy them this
evening. They'll be sold on the streets tonight. This is the
way we make our living - lots of trouble!'
Saturday night is a time of festivity in poor neighbourhoods.
All sorts of things are sold from countless
lighted pushcarts. The streets are more
crowded than on any other day. Saturday is
the day the poor are able to spend a little, for they receive
their weekly wages.
Ingredients for cake making, flour, sugar, fat, raisins, eggs
• Why did Maggie ask the
narrator whether he was a
vegetarian?
• Why did Mr Gupta go to
Maggie’s house?
• What do you understand
about the living conditions
of Maggie and her mother?
• Why is Saturday special to
Maggie and her mother?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
5 6
and so forth were set out in readiness upon the dresser.
Several freshly baked cakes in tins were also there.
'Sitting in such a poor kitchen will not be very pleasant
for you, will it?' Mrs. Clifford said. 'I have almost finished
my work. Maggie, take him into the sitting room, I'll come
in a minute.'
'No, no,' I protested, 'I can sit here well enough. The cakes
you make are nice ones, I must say.'
Mrs. Clifford thanked me with a smile.
'What kind of a country is India, sir?’ asked Mrs. Clifford,
as she resumed her cooking.
'A beautiful country.'
'Safe to live in?'
'Certainly. But not cold like this country. It is somewhat
hot.'
'Aren't there too many snakes and tigers?
Don't they kill people?'
'Don't believe that,' I laughed. 'Snakes and
tigers keep to the jungles. They get killed themselves if
they come too close to places where people live.'
'And fevers?'
'In some places in India, there is more fever than in others.
It is neither the same everywhere nor the same all the
year around.'
'My son is in the Punjab. He is a soldier. What kind of a
place is the Punjab?'
'The Punjab is a fine place. There is little fever there. It
is very healthy.'
'I am glad to hear it,' Mrs. Clifford said.
Her baking was finished. 'Maggie,' she said, 'take Mr. Gupta
upstairs, I'll wash my hands and bring tea.'
Maggie showed the way to their sitting room and I followed.
The furniture was cheap and there was not much of it.
The carpet was old, torn in places. But everything was
extremely clean. Maggie drew the curtains back and
opened the windows. There was a glass bookcase. I stood
in front of it.
Mrs. Clifford came in carrying the tea tray, a few minutes
• How did Mr Gupta
describe India to Mrs.
Clifford?
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
5 7
later. All trace of the kitchen had vanished from her
person.
As we drank tea, I talked about India. Mrs.
Clifford showed me a photograph of her son. It
had been taken before he left. His name was Francis or
Frank. Maggie brought out a book of pictures he had sent
her for her birthday. There were many pictures of Simla
and the surrounding mountain country. On the inside
page was written, 'To Maggie, on her birthday, from her
loving brother Frank.'
'Maggie,' said Mrs. Clifford, 'show Mr Gupta the ring.'
'Has your brother sent you a ring?' I asked her. 'Let me
see what kind of a ring it is.'
'It is a magic ring, 'Maggie explained. 'A yogi gave it to
Frank.'
She brought it and asked, 'Can you see the past and the
future in it?'
I had heard a lot about crystal gazing. A crystal was set in
the ring. I took it up and examined it.
'When Frank sent the ring,' Mrs. Clifford said, 'he wrote
that if you concentrate on a distant person as you gaze
into it, you will be able to see him and what he is doing.
This is what the yogi told Frank. Maggie and I have
concentrated upon it, again and again, because we have
not had any news of Frank for a long time. But we have
not been able to see anything. Why don't you try? You are
a Hindu. You may be able to do it!'
I realised that superstition was not confined
to India. I did not have the heart to tell the
mother and daughter that the ring was
nothing much, brass with a piece of ordinary glass stuck
into it. They believed their Frank had sent them a new
and miraculous thing from a distant land, a dream India.
How could I shatter their faith?
Urged by Mrs. Clifford and Maggie, I took the ring into my
hand and stared at it intensely for a long time. 'I cannot
see anything,' I exclaimed at last, giving up.
The mother and daughter were disappointed. To change
the subject, I said, 'Here is a violin. It is yours, isn't it,
• Who is Francis? What do
you know about him?
• What is your opinion
about superstitions? Do
you believe in any?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
5 8
• Describe the incident
which touched the narrator
deeply.
Maggie?'
'Yes,' Mrs. Clifford answered, 'Maggie plays quite well.
Maggie, please play something for us.'
'Oh, Mother!' Maggie looked at her in protest.
'Maggie,' I pleaded, 'please play something! I am very fond
of the violin. I have a sister at home about your age. She
used to play for me.'
'The way I play is not at all worth listening to,' Maggie
said.
My entreaties at last persuaded her to play. 'I do not know
many pieces,' she said. 'What would you like to hear?'
'Shall I choose something? All right, then, give me your
music. Let me see what you have.'
Maggie brought out an old music case bound in black
leather. I opened it. Most of the pieces were light airs
like, 'Good-bye Dolly Grey,' 'Honeysuckle and the Bee',
etc. There were a few really good, though old-fashioned
ones, things like 'Robin Adair', ' Annie Laurie', 'The Last
Rose of Summer,' etc. There were several Scotch songs.
So I selected 'The Blue Bells of Scotland' and handed
Maggie the music. Maggie played and I hummed the tune
to myself.
When the song was over, I praised her playing lavishly as
I thanked her. 'Maggie has never had the opportunity to
study,' Mrs. Clifford said. 'She has learned what she knows
by herself. If our circumstances ever improve, I shall
arrange for her to have lessons.' On my way back, I was
filled with astonishment. The incident touched me very
deeply.
Three months passed. I visited Maggie and her
mother several times, at their home, and took
Maggie to see the Zoo once. She rode the elephant 'Indian
Rajah,' like all the other boys and girls. How delighted
she was!
But no news had come from her brother. Urged by Mrs.
Clifford, I went to India House, one day, and made
inquiries. I was told the regiment to which Frank belonged
was fighting on the Northwest Frontier. Mrs. Clifford
became extremely worried when she heard it. One day, I
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
5 9
received a postcard from Maggie. She wrote:
'Dear Mr Gupta,
My mother is very ill. I have not been able to
go to work for a week. We shall be extremely
grateful if you take the trouble to come to see us.
Maggie'
I had told the family with whom I lived about Maggie and
her mother. At breakfast, I spoke of the letter.
My hostess said, 'When you go, take some money with
you. The girl has not been able to go to work for a week.
She had not received any pay. It is probable that they are
hard up.'
After breakfast, I took some money and set
out for Lambeth. I knocked at the door. Maggie
opened it.
She was looking much pulled down. Her eyes were hollow
and ringed. 'Oh, thank you, Mr Gupta!' she exclaimed when
she saw me. 'It is so kind of you.'
'How is your mother, Maggie?' I asked.
'She is sleeping now. Her condition is very serious. The
doctor says it is aggravated by her anxiety over Frank.
There is no news from him yet. She may not live.'
I tried to console Maggie, drying her eyes with my
handkerchief. Maggie controlled herself with an effort and
said, ‘I have a request to make of you, Mr. Gupta.'
'What is it, Maggie? 'I asked.
'Come into the sitting room and I'll tell you,' she answered.
We tiptoed carefully into the sitting room lest the sound
of our footsteps should disturb the sick woman.I turned when I reached the centre of the
room, and remained standing there. 'What is
it, Maggie?' I repeated my question.
Maggie gazed up into my face with beseeching eyes.
I waited. Then, she covered her face with her hands and
wept silently.
I was in a fix. What could I say to console this child? Her
brother was fighting on the Frontier. Only God knewwhether he was alive or dead. Her mother was the only
• Why did Mr Gupta take
some money with him when
he went to see Mrs.
Clifford?
• Why did Mr Gupta and
Maggie tiptoe into the
sitting room?
• Why was Maggie unable to
go to work?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
6 0
• Why was the crystal ring
so special to Mrs. Clifford?
person she had on earth. If she lost her, what would
happen? Where in London could this girl, on the threshold
of adolescence, go?
I pulled her hands away from her face. 'Maggie, tell me
what you wish me to do. If there is anything I can do to
help you, I shall not hesitate.'
'Mr Gupta,' the girl said, ‘I do not know what you will
think of the request I am going to make. Please forgive meif it is very, very wrong.'
'What is it? What do you wish to ask?’
'All day yesterday, Mother kept saying that if Mr Gupta
would come and gaze into the crystal, he might learn
something about Frank. Mr Gupta is a Hindu, she said. Ifonly he would come, she said. That is why l wrote to you.'
'If you want me to try once more, go and bring me the
ring, Maggie. Of course I'll do it.'
'But if you don't see anything again this time?' I understood
what Maggie meant. I was silent.
'Mr Gupta, I have read in books that Hindus
are extremely truth-loving. If you could bring
yourself to tell Mother only once, after looking
into the crystal, that Frank is all right, that he is alive --
will it be too much of a lie? Will it be very, very wrong?' As
she spoke, tears streamed from her eyes.
I thought it over. I am not very virtuous. I have done my
sinful things. So I decided to do this. It would be the least
of my offences. 'Please, Maggie, don't cry.
Where is the ring? Let me take a good look at
it this time. If I do not see anything I shall do
as you suggest. God will forgive me if it is wrong.'
Maggie brought me the ring. I took it and said, 'See if your
mother is awake.'
Fifteen minutes passed before Maggie came back. 'Mother
is awake,' she said. 'I have told her you are here.'
'May I see her now?'
'Please come.'
I approached the mother's bedside. The ring was in my
hand. Wishing her a good morning I said. 'Mrs. Clifford,
• What request did Maggie
make to Mr Gupta?
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
6 1
your son is alive. He is well.'
The old woman raised her head a little off the
pillow. 'Did you see that in the crystal?' she
asked.
'Yes, Mrs. Clifford,' I answered without any hesitation, '1
have seen it.'
Her head dropped back. Tears of happiness welled from
her eyes. She whispered faintly. 'God bless you! God bless
you!'
Mrs. Clifford recovered.
It was almost time for me to return to my country. I wished
to go to Lambeth to say good-bye to Maggie and her mother.
But the family was in mourning. Frank had been killed in
the fighting on the Frontier. A month ago,
Maggie had sent me a card with a black border.
I calculated from the date and found that
Frank had been dead some days when I told
his mother he was alive and well. I felt ashamed to face
Mrs. Clifford. So I wrote a letter to them, announcing my
departure and bidding them good-bye.
The morning of my last day in London dawned. I was to
leave before night. As I was breakfasting with the family,
there was a knock at the door. A minute or two later,
the maid came in and announced, 'Please Mr Gupta,
Miss Clifford has come to see you.'
My breakfast was unfinished. Maggie had come to say
good-bye. Lest she be late for office because of me, I took
the permission of my hostess and got up from the table.
Maggie was standing in the hall. She was wearing black.
I took her into the adjoining library and made her sit
down.
'Are you leaving today?’ she asked.
'Yes, Maggie, today is the day of my departure.'
'How long will it take you to reach your country? '
'A little more than two weeks.'
'In what part of the country do you live?'
'I have entered the Punjab Civil Service. I shall not know
exactly where I am posted until I arrive there.'
• What made Mrs. Clifford
recover?
• Why was Mr Gupta
ashamed to face
Mrs. Clifford?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
6 2
• Explain the reason why
Mr Gupta accepted the
shilling.
'Is the Frontier very far from there? '
'No, not very.'
'Frank is buried at Fort Monroe, near Dera-Ghazi-Khan.'
The girl's eyes were filled with tears as she spoke.
'When I go to that part of the country, I shall visit your
brother's grave and write to you.'
'It won't be troublesome for you? Or
inconvenient?' Maggie asked.
'Why should it be? Dera-Ghazi-Khan is not very far from
where I shall be. It will certainly be possible for me to go
there someday. I'll write and tell you about it.'
Maggie's face was filled with gratitude. As she thanked
me, her voice choked. She took a shilling out of her pocket
and put it down on the table in front of me, saying, 'Please
buy flowers with this shilling when you go,
and lay them on my brother's grave for me.’
In my emotion, I lowered my eyes. The child had earned
the shilling with so much toil! I felt like returning it to
her, explaining that in our country flowers grow in great
profusion and do not have to be purchased.
But I reconsidered. Why should I deprive her
of the joy this sacrifice would give her? All
that this shilling could have given her she was foregoing
for the love of her brother. The joy of doing it was beyond
all price. The grief in her heart would be eased a little.
What good would it do to deprive her of it? I picked up the
shilling.
'Maggie,' I said, 'I shall use this shilling to buy flowers and
put them on your brother's grave.'
Maggie stood up. 'How can I thank you?'
she said. 'Now it is time for me to go to
work. Good-bye, remember to write.'
I got up and took her hand in mine.
'Good-bye, Maggie, God bless you,' I said
and pressed her hand to my lips. Maggie
left. I wiped a tear or two from my eyes
and went upstairs to pack my bags.
(Adapted)
(Translated from Bengali by Lila Ray)
• What was the promise
given to Maggie?
• Why did Maggie give a
shilling to Mr Gupta?
About the Author
Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay
(1873-1932) was one of the best shortstory writers in Bengali literature. Hewas also a novelist. His short storiesare mainly based on real-life situationsand his characters belong to the middleclass families. Their hopes andaspirations, joys and sorrows arewoven finely into his stories.
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
6 3
Activity I (Read and respond)
1. ‘It is neither the same everywhere nor the same all the yearround in India.’ Why?
2. Why did the narrator decide to take the shilling given by Maggie?
3. What is the role of faith in the story?
Activity II (Discussion)
r Discuss the significance of the title ‘The Price of Flowers’. You
may also suggest alternate titles to the story.
Activity III (Character sketch)
r Pick out the words used by the author to describe the character
of Maggie.
Establish the above points with the help of related evidence from
the text, and sketch the character of Maggie.
Appearance
• thirteen years old
• anxious figure
• large eyes
•
•
•
Qualities/traits
• hard-working
• disciplined
• polite manners••
Attitude towards others
• respectful
• caring
•
•
•
•
Your opinion about the girl
••
•••
Glossary:
aggravate (v) : worsen
beseech (adj) : showing that you want something very much
(of a look, a tone of voice, etc.)
betray (v) : reveal
entreaty : a serious and often emotional request
Lambeth : a suburb of London
music (n) : (here) a book with printed notes of music
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
6 4
1. Story a. a very old traditional story from a particular place,that was originally passed on to people in a spokenform
2. Anecdote b. a story from ancient times, especially one that wastold to explain natural events or to describe the earlyhistory of a people
3. Tale c. an imaginative story, especially one that is full ofaction and adventure
4. Folk tale d. a description of events and people that the writer orthe speaker has invented in order to entertain people(adventure story, detective story, love story)
5. Fable e. a story about magic or fairies, usually meant forchildren
6. Fairy tale f. a traditional short story that teaches a moral lesson,especially one with animals as characters
7. Fiction g. an interesting or amusing story about a real personor event
8. Myth h. a type of literature that describes imaginary peopleand events
r Now, match the following with the help of a dictionary.
A B
Which category, does the story 'The Price of Flowers' belong to? Discuss.
Story
Fable Adventurestory
AnecdoteMyth
.............
Folk taleDetective
story
Fairy tale Tale
.............
Activity IV (Web diagram)
r The following web diagram shows different types of stories. Add
more types to it.
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
6 5
Activity V (Write-up)
r 'I want work that will make me use my head, brain work.'
How far can you relate this statement to your life? What kind ofprofession do you like? Why? Prepare a write-up.
Activity VI (Letter)
r ‘When I go to that part of the country, I shall visit your brother’sgrave and write to you.’ A few weeks after the narrator’s departure,Maggie receives a letter from him. What might be the content of
the letter? Draft a letter, assuming that you are the narrator.
Activity VII (Role-play)
r Maggie reads the letter. She cannot sleep for many days. Imaginethat one day, Mr Gupta receives a call from her. What would shesay? Discuss with your friend, and prepare a likely conversation
between them. Enact the scene by taking up different roles.
Activity VIII (Review)
r Read the story ‘The Price of Flowers’ again and discuss thefollowing with your friends.
• the theme
• style of narration
• language
• impact of words and expressions
• location
• characterisation
• dialogues
• the opening and the ending of the story
Now, attempt a critical review of the story.
Activity IX (Reporting)
The following sentences are from the story ‘The Price of Flowers’.Read them.
She asked, 'Are you an Indian?'
'Yes.'
'Excuse me, are you a vegetarian?'
'Why do you ask that? '
'I have heard that most Indians are vegetarians.'
'How is it that you know anything about India?'
'My elder brother is in India. He is a soldier.'
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
6 6
Note 1 : If the reporting verb is in the simple present tense or present
perfect, the tense in the direct speech can be retained.
e.g. It is said that the earth moves around the sun.
Shakespeare has said that one may laugh and laugh and
yet be a villain.
Note 2 : The context of the conversation should be borne in mind
while reporting it. The reporting verbs and adjectives may
be selected accordingly.
e.g. The convict : Yes, yes, I’ll lie down.
The convict agreed that he would lie down.
r Now, rewrite the following sentences in reported speech.
'Shall I call you Miss Clifford or Alice? '
'I am not grown-up yet. You may call me what you like.
I am usually called Maggie.' She laughed.
'Are you very anxious to grow up?'
'Yes.'
'Tell me why.'
'When I grow up, I shall be paid more for my work. My
mother is old.'
'Is the work you do to your liking?'
'No. The work is very mechanical. I want work that will
make me use my head, brain work. Like the work of a
secretary.'
The very next day the narrator told his friend about the girl and theirconversation.
Read and find out how he presented it.
The girl asked me whether I was an Indian.
I answered in the affirmative.
Then she asked me politely if I was a vegetarian.
I enquired why she asked that.
She said (that) she had heard that most Indians werevegetarians.
I further asked her how it was that she knew anything aboutIndia.
She replied that her elder brother was in India and addedthat he was a soldier.
r What differences do you notice between direct speech and
reported speech? Discuss.
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
6 7
DEATH THE LEVELLER
James Shirley
THE glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.
The garlands wither on your brow;
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death’s purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds;
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb;
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.
III. Read and enjoy:
Deeds speak louder than words. Good deeds will be remembered
for ever. Here is a poem which tells us about the glory of deeds.
Read on.
About the Author
James Shirley, (1596-1666),is known as the last of theElizabethans. He was aprolific writer for the stage.He also published foursmall volumes of poems
and plays.
'Death the Leveller' is a funeral song.However, it appeals to the reader tothink about human actions. The centralidea of the poem is the vanity andimpermanence of earthly glory andpower. Death knows no distinction,and carries off all alike - high and low,rich and poor, strong and weak -reducing them all to dust. It is only thememory of the good deeds doneduring our lifetime that will remain forever.
Your teacher will help you to listen to therecitation of the poem.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
6 8
Activity I (Read and respond)
1. Why does the poet think that the glories of our blood and stateare shadows?
2. What do 'sceptre and crown', and 'scythe and spade' stand for andwhat do they symbolize?
3. Why does the poet say that 'there is no armour against fate'?
4. 'Some men with swords may reap the field'. What does this mean?
5. What is the fate of the men with swords who hope to reap thefield?
6. What does 'Death's purple altar' refer to?
7. What does the phrase 'victor-victim' mean?
8. What can survive death? What are the things that blossom in thedust? Why?
9. Why is Death called the Leveller?
Activity II (Read and reflect)
r Elaborate the ideas in the following lines:
(i) Only the actions of the justSmell sweet and blossom in the dust.
(ii) The glories of our blood and stateAre shadows, not substantial things;There is no armour against Fate;
Glossary:
altar (n) : a holy place in a church or temple
blood (n) : family origins
captive (n) : kept as a prisoner or in a confined space
crooked (adj.) : dishonest
laurels (n) : a bush with dark smooth shiny leaves; also, represents
honour and praise
sceptre (n) : the ornamental rod of a king, a symbol of power
scythe (n) : a tool with a long handle and a slightly curved blade, used
to cut grass or grain
spade (n) : a garden tool with a broad metal blade and a long handle
stoop (v) : surrender
tame (v) : control
tumble : fall down
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
6 9
r The following words are taken from the poem. Parse them withthe help of a dictionary.
armour : ……noun… wither : ………………
but : ……………… tame : ………………
murmuring : ……………… stoop : ………………
boast : verb crumble : ………………
where : ……………… reap : ………………
cold : ……………… boast : ………………
sweet : ……………… bleeds : ………………
Activity III (Analysis)
r Examine the rhyme scheme of the poem. What effect does it
produce?
Couplet : A couplet consists of two lines of poetry that rhyme witheach other and are of the same length.
e.g. 'Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down,’
Can you identify more couplets from the poem?
Figures of speech:
Personification --- a figure of speech in which human qualitiesare attributed to inanimate objects. e.g. O wild west wind!
Metaphor --- a word or expression used to describe somebody/something in a way that is different from its normal use. One isidentified with the other.
e.g. O, my love is a red, red rose (metaphor)
O, my love is like a red, red rose (simile)
Metonymy --- when one thing is mentioned instead of anotherwith which it has become closely associated, because of arecurrent relation in common experience.
e.g. ‘the crown’ stands for a king
‘Hollywood’ for the film industry
Oxymoron --- when two terms which, in ordinary usage, arecontraries are used together.
e.g. pleasing pains, loving hate; I burn and freeze.
Identify the figure of speech in 'Death lays its icy hand on kings:'
Pick out examples of metaphor, metonymy and oxymoron in the poem.
Discuss the poetic effect of these figures of speech.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
7 0
Activity IV (Appreciation)
Men are mortal. Triumph and failures are a part and parcel of life.However, we have to think of the consequences of our action beforewe do something. The effect of our mistaken deeds cannot often berectified.
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Think and add your views.
r Now attempt an appreciation of the poem. What should be in-
cluded in it?
- introduction
- brief summary
- poetic devices
- message
- your opinion
-
Activity V (Collection)
r Collect articles, biographies, poems, memoirs, etc., on great people
like Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln, and prepare a Class
Magazine.
Unit - 2 WORDS AND DEEDS
7 1
Students demonstrate the ability to
• maintain the unity between words and deeds.
• uphold the importance of values in life.
• realise the role of each individual to enrich the
culture of India.
• appreciate literature.
• develop an empathetic attitude.
Thematic outcomes
Students demonstrate the ability to
• use correct subject-verb agreement in discourses.
• use reported speech in various contexts.
• use dictionary reference skills.
• prepare and deliver speeches.
• participate in Group Discussions.
• draft different types of letters.
• prepare an appreciation of poems / short stories.
• make notes and summarise passages.
Linguistic outcomes
The major learning outcomes of this unit are listed below.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
72
3Unit
Travel, for Ulysses, the speaker of Tennyson's poem, is the
means to satisfy his unquenchable thirst for knowledge. With
his unflinching determination, ‘to strive, to seek, to find, and not
to yield’ he intends to go beyond horizons of knowledge and
experience. In the modern world the amenities of travel have
improved and the opportunities of travel have increased
tremendously.
The unit focuses on travel and the diverse experience it provides.
It takes the learners through different facets of travel, such as
an adoration of natural beauty, a craving for adventure and an
exploration of new cultures, customs and traditions.
It comprises:
• Sunrise on the Hills (a poem)
• The Trip of Le Horla (a short story)
• The Sacred Turtles of Kadavu (a Fijian Legend)
About the Unit
… all experience is an arch wherethro'Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fadesFor ever and forever when I move.
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
73
Let’s begin:
rrrrr 1. Look at the illustration given below.
Give a suitable caption to it.
What more would you like to include in this illustration?
r Travel is an integral part of modern life. It opens up new horizonsof experience. Imagine that you are planning a tour to a place ofimportance.
What are your criteria for selecting your tourist destination?
List them below:
m Scenic beauty m .............................
m ............................. m .............................
2. Read and discuss:
r The lush beauty of a place is a real feast for the eyes. It neverfails to attract us. Here is an account of the magical beauty ofnature - the panoramic view from the top of Thamarasseri Ghats*towards the Arabian Sea.
'High mountains rise to the left with water glistening on bare
black rocks like tears of gladness in the eyes of sorrow; forests
stretch away here with gentle slope and easy undulation; far below
lie swamps choked with thorny thickets and rank coarse grasses
in whose bosoms are stored the streams which water those large
stretches of rice fields, here sere and yellow after the sickle of
the reaper, there whitening unto harvest or again a vivid green
where the second crop matures.
* Thamarasseri Ghats is a hilly highway with nine hairpin curves from Adivaram(Valley) to Lakkidi, in Wayanad. It is also known as Thamarasseri Churam.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
74
thorny thickets
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Hills everywhere, some arid, red and unfruitful, more covered inthe feathery foliage of the Eastern orchards... As the distance
grows farther, hill and field all merge into one green plain, and
beyond gleams the sea, hard to be discerned from heaven thatbends down and meets it. The thought rises from the heart that
in such fair and well-ordered beauty, the affairs of this world may
perchance appear… so strange, so little comprehendible by us,the dwellers, amid its hills and valleys.
(Wayanad: It's Peoples and Traditionsby C. Gopalan Nair, 1911)
m Discuss the colours mentioned in the passage.
m What gives Thamarasseri its well-ordered beauty?
m Pick out the word-pictures found in the passage.
r Think of a place in your locality which is noted for its scenicbeauty.
Is it as attractive and beautiful as the place described in theabove passage? Discuss with your friends.
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
75
I stood upon the hills, when heaven’s wide archWas glorious with the sun’s returning march,And woods were brightened, and soft galesWent forth to kiss the sun-clad vales.The clouds were far beneath me; bathed in light,They gathered midway round the wooded height,And, in their fading glory, shoneLike hosts in battle overthrown.As many a pinnacle, with shifting glance,Through the gray mist thrust up its shattered lance,And rocking on the cliff was leftThe dark pine blasted, bare, and cleft.The veil of cloud was lifted, and belowGlowed the rich valley, and the river’s flowWas darkened by the forest’s shade,Or glistened in the white cascade;Where upward, in the mellow blush of day,The noisy bittern wheeled his spiral way.
I heard the distant waters dash,I saw the current whirl and flash,And richly, by the blue lake’s silver beach,The woods were bending with a silent reach.Then o’er the vale, with gentle swell,The music of the village bellCame sweetly to the echo-giving hills;And the wild horn, whose voice the woodland fills,Was ringing to the merry shout,That faint and far the glen sent out,Where, answering to the sudden shot, thin smoke,Through thick-leaved branches, from the dingle broke.
If thou art worn and hard besetWith sorrows that thou wouldst forget,If thou wouldst read a lesson, that will keep
I. Read and enjoy:
Travel is, in fact, an eye-opener. It opens up new, refreshing snapshots
before us and often helps us change our philosophy of life.
Now, read the poem ‘Sunrise on the Hills’.
SUNRISE ON THE HILLS
H. W. Longfellow
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
76
Glossary:
beset (v) : affect somebody / something
in a harmful way
bittern (n) : a small, speckled bird of the
heron family, found in North
America
cascade (n) : a small waterfall
cliff (n) : a high area of rock with a
very steep side, often on a
coast
dingle (n) : a deep wooded narrow valley
glen (n) : valley
horn (n) : the great horned owl of
America, or the screech owl
lance (n) : a very long thin pointed
weapon used in the past by soldiers on horses. (here) the
sharp pointed top of hills /rocks.
mellow (adj) : smooth and soft
pinnacle (n) : the top of a very high mountain; a tall thin pointed piece of
stone or rock
thy (determiner) : your, the possessive form of thou (you)
wooded (adj) : covered with trees
Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep,Go to the woods and hills! No tearsDim the sweet look that Nature wears.
H.W. Longfellow (1807-1882) was aninfluential Americanpoet, translator andprofessor at Harvard
University. During his lifetime,Longfellow was considered the best ofall American poets, and his work waswidely translated and published invarious other languages. The poem‘Sunrise on the Hills’ presents theexperience of the poet as he watchesthe sun rise amidst the hills.
About the Author
Activity I (Read and respond)
m Look at the expressions 'heaven's wide arch', and 'returning
march'. What does the poet describe here? What else does it
remind you of?
m Comment on the expression ‘soft gales.’
m What makes the glory of the clouds fade?
m What are the clouds compared to?
m What picture of the valley is unveiled?
m How does the valley respond to the rising sun?
m What message does the poet convey?
m Are all the three stanzas of equal length? Why do you think the
last stanza is short when compared to the previous stanzas?
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
77
Activity II (Read and reflect)
You may also listen to the recital of the poem.
Now, discuss and answer the following questions:
m Comment on the musical quality of the poem.
m Identify the symbols used in the poem.
m How does figurative language, like the simile, make the poem
effective?
Your teacher will help you listen to the recitation of the poem.
Sights Sounds Movements
• glowed the rich • distant waters • wheeled his
valley dash spiral way
• • •
• • •
Activity III (Appreciation)
r Pick out the descriptions of sights, sounds and movements in the
poem.
r Does any image stand out as the most important? Why do you
think so?
r What is your overall assessment of the poem?
r Based on the above discussions, prepare an appreciation of the
poem. You may follow the format given below.
m Introduction
m Brief summary
m Features (sound effect, symbols,
figures of speech, etc.)
m Message
m Concluding comments
• The sights listed above areimages that create strong wordpictures in the minds of thereaders. They belong to a typeof imagery called visualimagery.
• The sounds that you identifiedin the poem are vital inimagining and feeling thesituation. They are instancesof auditory imagery.
• The words in the poem that areused to describe a sense ofmovement form a type ofimagery called kinestheticimagery.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
78
Read and discuss:
r The modes of travel differ. Some may result in more intense and
interesting experiences. Here is a traveller who broke the physi-
cal barrier between him and the people of different countries.
Chris Foster, a 48-year-old teacher from Southern
California, has just completed the first part of a solomotorcycle journey around the world. He roared his way
through 14,343 miles, across three continents, and eleven
countries, starting his journey in late June, by dipping hisfeet in the Pacific Ocean. To him, travelling by motorcycle
is a one-of-a-kind experience, to get close to everything:
the weather, the smells, the sights, and most importantly,the people. One of the main motivations for this journey is
to gain a first-hand knowledge of various countries and
their customs.
m What does the travel experience of this teacher tell us?
m What do you think interests him more: where to travel or how to
travel?
THE TRIP OF LE HORLA
Guy de Maupassant
On the morning of July 8th, I received the following
telegram: ‘Fine day. Always my predictions. Belgian
frontier. Baggage and servants leave at
noon at the social session. Beginning of
manoeuvres at three. So I will wait for
you at the works from five o'clock on. Jovis.’
At five o'clock sharp, I entered the gas works of La Villette.
The balloon is lying in the courtyard and has the
appearance of a cake made of yellow cloth,
flat on the ground under a rope.
• What is special about the
sentences in the telegram?
• What does the author compare
the balloon to?
How interesting does the earth look when viewed from a different angle
from far away, from out there? Let’s read ‘The Trip of Le Horla,’ which
chronicles Maupassant’s ride in a balloon called ‘Le Horla’.
II. Read and reflect:
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
79
Two or three hundred people are looking at it, sitting or
standing, and some are examining the basket, a nice little
square basket for a human cargo, bearing on its side in
gold letters, on a mahogany plate, the words: Le Horla.
Suddenly, the people begin to stand back, for the gas is
beginning to enter into the balloon through a long tube of
yellow cloth, which lies on the soil,
swelling and undulating like an enormous
worm. But another thought, another picture occurs to
every mind. It is thus that nature itself nourishes beings
until their birth. The creature that will rise, soon begins
to move, and the attendants of Captain Jovis, as Le Horla
grows larger, spread and put in place the net which covers
it, so that the pressure will be regular and equally
distributed at every point.
The crowd has begun to talk, and some men, who appear
to be specialists, affirm with authority that we shall come
down before reaching the fortifications.
Several other things have been criticized
in this novel type of balloon with which
we are about to experiment, with so much pleasure and
success. Meanwhile, the balloon is growing slowly but
surely.
While Captain Jovis and his assistants are busy with the
last details, the travellers go to dine in
the canteen of the gas-works, according
to the established custom.
When we come out again, the balloon is swaying, enormous
and transparent, a prodigious golden fruit, a fantastic pear
which is still ripening, covered by the last
rays of the setting sun. Now, the basket
is attached, the barometers are brought;
the siren, which we will blow to our hearts' content, is
also brought; also the two trumpets, the eatables, the
overcoats and raincoats; all the small articles that can go
with the men in that flying basket.
Captain Jovis is now ready, and calls all the passengers.
Lieutenant Mallet jumps aboard, climbing
first on the aerial net between the basket
and the balloon, from which he will watch,
• What is the other thought that
occurs to every mind?
• Express the attitude of the
spectators and passengers
towards the sport of ballooning.
• What is the established custom
mentioned here?
• When the travellers come out,
what do they see?
• Name the passengers in the
balloon.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
80
during the night, the movements of Le
Horla across the skies, as the officer on
watch standing on starboard watches the
course of a ship. M*. Etierine Beer gets in after him, then
comes M. Paul Bessand, then M. Patrice Eyries, and I get
in last.
But the basket is too heavy for the balloon,
considering the long trip to be taken, and
M. Eyries has to get out, not without great regret.
M. Joliet, standing erect on the edge of the basket, begs
the ladies, in very gallant terms, to stand aside a little,
for he is afraid he might throw sand on
their hats in rising. Then, he commands:
‘Let it loose,’ and, cutting with one stroke
of his knife the ropes that hold the balloon to the ground,
he gives Le Horla its liberty!
In one second we fly skyward. Nothing
can be heard; we float, we rise, we fly, we glide! Our
friends shout with glee and applaud, but we hardly hear
them, we hardly see them. We are already so far, so high!
What? Are we really leaving these people down there? Is
it possible? Paris spreads out beneath us, a dark bluish
patch, cut by its streets, from which rise, here and there,
domes, towers, steeples, then around it
the plain, the country, traversed by long
roads, thin and white, amidst green fields of a tender or
dark green, and woods almost black.
The sun, which we could no longer see
down below, now reappears.
In fact, we can see whether we are rising
or sinking only by throwing a cigarette
paper out of the basket, now and then. If
this paper appears to fall down like a stone, it means that
the balloon is rising; if it appears to shoot
skyward, the balloon is descending.
The two barometers mark about five
hundred metres, and we gaze with
enthusiastic admiration at the earth we are leaving
and to which we are not attached in any way; it looks like
• Who is posted as the officer on
watch?
• Why does M.Eyries get out of the
balloon? Is he regretful? Why?
• What does M. Joliet’s deeds and
words tell us about him?
• Comment on the use of the word
‘liberty’.
• Describe the aerial view of Paris.
• Have you ever had an aerial view
of a place?
• Can a view from an aeroplane be
as picturesque as this balloon
view? Why?
• How do the travellers know
whether they are rising or
sinking?
* The initial M. before the names stands for ‘Monsieur,’ a French courtesy titlewhich is equivalent to the English ‘Mr.’
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
81
a coloured map, an immense plan
of the country. All its noises,
however, rise to our ears very
distinctly, easily recognizable. We
hear the sound of the wheels
rolling in the streets, the snap of
a whip, the cries of drivers, the
rolling and whistling of trains and
the laughter of small boys running
after one another. Every time we pass
over a village, the noise of children's
voices is heard above the rest, and with
the greatest distinctness.
The view is superb; it is dark on the earth, but we are still
in the light, and it is now past ten o'clock. Now, we begin
to hear slight country noises, the double
cry of the quail in particular, then the
mewing of cats and the barking of dogs.
Surely, the dogs have scented the balloon;
they have seen it and have given the alarm. We can hear
them barking all over the plain, and making the identical
noise they make when baying at the moon. The cows also
seem to wake up in the barns, for we can hear them
lowing; all the beasts are scared and moved before the
aerial monster that is passing.
The delicious odours of the soil rise
towards us, the smell of hay, of flowers,
of the moist, verdant earth, perfuming the
air.
At times, we rise and then descend. Every
few minutes, Lieutenant Mallet,
suspended in his cobweb of netting, says
to Captain Jovis: ‘We are descending; throw down half a
handful.’ And the captain, who is talking
and laughing with us, with a bag of ballast
between his legs, takes a handful of sand
out of the bag, and throws it overboard.
Nothing is more amusing, more delicate, more interesting
than the manoeuvring of a balloon. It is an enormous toy,
free and docile, which obeys with surprising sensitiveness,
• How do the animals receive the
balloon? How does the balloon
appear before them?
• The delicious odours of the soil
rise toward us, the smell of hay,
of flowers, of the moist, verdant
earth, perfuming the air…Identify
the type of imagery used here.
• What do you think would be the
fate of the balloon?
• Why does Mallet ask the Captain
to throw down half a handful of
sand?
• All the noises are easily
recognisable. Mention the
diverse sounds that reach the
travellers’ ears.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
82
but it is also, and before all, the slave of
the wind, which we cannot control. A pinch
of sand, half a sheet of paper, one or two
drops of water, the bones of a chicken which we have just
eaten, thrown overboard, makes it go up quickly.
The earth sleeps now, or rather, men sleep on the earth,
for the beasts awakened by the sight of our balloon,
announce our approach everywhere.
A strong and continuous odour of gas can
be plainly observed. We must have
encountered a current of warm air, and
the balloon expands, losing its invisible
blood by the escape-valve.
We are rising. The earth no longer gives
back the echo of our trumpets; we have risen almost two
thousand feet. It is not light enough for us to consult the
instruments; we only know that the rice paper falls from
us like dead butterflies, that we are rising,
always rising. We can no longer see the
earth; a light mist separates us from it;
and above our head twinkles a world of stars.
A silvery light appears before us and makes the sky turn
pale, and suddenly, as if it is rising from unknown depths,
behind the horizon below us, rises the moon on the edge of
a cloud. It seems to be coming from below, while we are
looking down upon it from a great height, leaning on the
edge of our basket, like an audience on a
balcony. Clear and round, it emerges from
the clouds and slowly rises in the sky.
The earth no longer seems to exist, it is buried in milky
vapours that resemble a sea. We are now alone in space
with the moon, which looks like another balloon travelling
opposite us; and our balloon, which shines in the air,
appears like another, larger moon, a world wandering in
the sky amid the stars, through infinity. We no longer speak,
think nor live; we float along through space in delicious
inertia. We have become something
indescribable, birds who do not even have
to flap their wings.
All memory has disappeared from our
• The balloon is both a free toy and
a slave of the wind. Express your
views on this statement.
• Can you ‘observe’ odour? Why
does the author say so?
• Comment on the expression:
‘losing its invisible blood by the
escape-valve.’
• What do the mist-covered earth
and star-studded sky indicate?
• Look at the expression ‘delicious
inertia.’ Can you identify the
figure of speech used here?
• Why is space travel considered
as ‘delicious inertia’ by the
narrator?
• How is the rising of the moon
described?
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
83
minds, all trouble from our thoughts; we have no more
regrets, plans nor hopes. We look, we feel, we wildly enjoy
this fantastic journey; nothing in the sky
but the moon and ourselves! We are a
wandering, travelling world, like our
sisters, the planets; and this little world
carries five men who have left the earth,
and who have almost forgotten it. The barometers mark
twelve hundred metres, then thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
hundred; and the little rice papers still fall about us.
We are now at two thousand metres; we go up to two thousand
three hundred and fifty; then the balloon
stops. We blow the siren and are surprised
that no one answers us from the stars.
We are now going down rapidly. M. Mallet keeps crying:
‘Throw out more ballast! throw out more ballast!’ And the
sand and stones that we throw over, come back into our
faces as if they are going up, thrown from below toward the
stars, so rapid is our descent.
Here is the earth! Where are we? It is now
past midnight, and we are crossing a broad, dry, well-
cultivated country. To the right is a large city, and farther
away to the left is another. But suddenly from the earth
appears a bright fairy light; it disappears, reappears and
once more disappears. But one hardly has time to see them
as the balloon passes as quickly as the wind.
We are now quite near the earth, and Beer exclaims: ‘Look
at that! What is that running over there in the fields? Isn't
it a dog?’ Indeed, something is running along the ground
with great speed, and this something seems to jump over
ditches, roads, trees with such ease that
we could not understand what it might be.
The captain laughs: ‘It is the shadow of
our balloon. It will grow as we descend.’
I distinctly hear a great noise of foundries
in the distance. And, according to the polar
star, which we have been observing all night,
we are heading straight for Belgium*.
• The author calls the balloon ‘a
world wandering in the sky’ and
‘a wandering, travelling world.’
Can you coin similar
descriptions of the balloon?
• When does the balloon stop?
Why?
• How does the author describe the
rapid descent of the balloon?
• How does the shadow of the
balloon appear to the travellers?
• How far does the polar star guide
the travellers?
Do you think it is a scientific way
to travel?
* Belgium borders the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to
the southeast, France to the south and the North Sea for 70 km to the north east.
Brussels is the capital of Belgium.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
84
Our siren and our two horns are continually calling. We
bellow: ‘Where are we?’ But the balloon is going so rapidly
that the bewildered man has not even time to answer us.
The growing shadow of Le Horla, as large
as a child's ball, is fleeing before us over
the fields, roads and woods. It goes along
steadily, preceding us by about a quarter of a mile; and
now, I am leaning out of the basket, listening to the roaring
of the wind in the trees and across the harvest fields. I
say to Captain Jovis: ‘How the wind blows!’
He answers: ‘No, those are probably waterfalls.’ I insist,
sure of my ear that knows the sound of the wind, from
hearing it so often whistle through the
rigging. Then Jovis nudges me; he fears
to frighten his happy, quiet passengers,
for he knows full well that a storm is
pursuing us.
Suddenly, the lights of a town appear before us. Such a
wonderful flow of fire appears below us that I think myself
transported into some fairyland where precious stones
are manufactured for giants.
The clouds are gathering behind us, hiding the moon,
whereas towards the east the sky is growing lighter,
becoming clear blue, tinged with red. It is dawn. It grows
rapidly, now showing us all the little
details of the earth, the trains, the
brooks, the cows, the goats. And all this
passes beneath us with surprising speed.
Cocks are crowing, but the voice of ducks
drowns everything.
The early rising peasants are waving their arms and crying
to us: ‘Let yourselves drop!’ But we go along steadily,
neither rising nor falling, leaning over the
edge of the basket and watching the world
fleeing under our feet.
And, indeed, far ahead of us stretches a
bright highway, in the light of the dawning day. Yes, it
looks like a river, an immense river full of islands.
• Who is the bewildered man? Why
is he bewildered?
• Identify the sights and sounds
that welcome the dawn.
Sights Sounds
• ‘The world fleeing under our feet’
- What experience does the
author try to convey?
• Comment on the reaction of the
Captain to the roaring of the
wind. Can you justify the
Captain’s behaviour?
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
85
‘Get ready for the descent,’ cries the captain. He makes
M. Mallet leave his net and return to the basket; then, we
pack the barometers and everything that could be injured
by possible shocks. M. Bessand exclaims: ‘Look at the masts
over there to the left! We are at the sea!’
Fogs have hidden it from us until then.
The sea is everywhere, to the left and opposite us.
It is necessary to descend within a minute or two.
The rope to the escape-valve, which has
been religiously enclosed in a little white
bag and placed in sight of all so that no
one will touch it, is unrolled, and
M. Mallet holds it in his hand while
Captain Jovis looks for a favourable landing.
Behind us, the thunder is rumbling and
not a single bird follows our mad flight.
We are passing over a canal. The basket trembles and
tips over slightly. The guy-rope touches the tall trees on
both banks.We pass with frightful rapidity over a large
farm, from which the bewildered
chickens, pigeons and ducks fly away,
while the cows, cats and dogs run,
terrified, toward the house.
Just one-half bag of ballast is left. Jovis throws it
overboard, and Le Horla flies lightly across the roof.
The captain once more cries: ‘The escape-valve!’
M. Mallet reaches for the rope and hangs
to it, and we drop like an arrow. With theslash of a knife the cord which retains
the anchor is cut, and we drag this grapple behind us,
through a field of beets. Here are the trees.
‘Take care! Hold fast! Look out for your heads!’
We pass over them. Then a strong shock shakes us. Theanchor has taken hold.
‘Look out! Take a good hold! Raise yourselves by your
wrists. We are going to touch the ground.’
The basket does indeed strike the earth. Then it flies up
again. Once more, it falls and bounds upward again, and
• If you were in such a situation,
how would you react?
• “Religiously enclosed” -
What is your opinion about the
adverb used here? How is it
connected with the verb
‘enclosed?’
• List out the words and
expressions that indicate the
mad flight of the balloon.
• What action does Mallet
perform?
• Why do you think the birds are
hesitant to follow the balloon?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
86
at last, it settles on the ground, while
the balloon struggles madly like a
wounded beast.
Peasants run toward us, but they do not dare approach,
for one cannot set foot on the ground until the bag is
almost completely deflated.
Then, almost at the same time as the
bewildered men, some of whom show their astonishment
by jumping, with the wild gestures of savages, all the cows
that are grazing along the coast come towards us,
surrounding our balloon with a strange and comical circle
of horns, big eyes and blowing nostrils.
With the help of the accommodating and hospitable Belgian
peasants, we are able, in a short time, to pack up all our
materials and carry it to the station at Heyst*, where, at
twenty minutes past eight, we take the train for Paris.
The descent occurred at three-fifteen in the morning.
Thanks to Captain Jovis, thanks to this brave man, we
were able to see, in a single night, from far up in the sky,
the setting of the sun, the rising of the moon and the
dawn of day, and to go from Paris to the mouth of the
Scheldt** through the skies.
(Adapted)
• Describe the reception of the
balloon by the peasants.
• Comment on the visual effect of
‘the balloon landing.’
* Heyst is a place with a very small population in the province of West - Vlaanderen,Belgium. The closest major cities include Antwerp and Brussels.
** Scheldt is a river that rises in France, flows through Belgium and empties into theNorth Sea.
Guy de Maupassant (1850– 1893) was a popular 19th-century French writer,considered one of themasters of the modern short
story and one of its finest exponents.
The short story called ‘The Trip of LeHorla,’ appeared in the Figaro, in 1887,under the title ‘From Paris to Heyst’.‘The Trip of Le Horla,’ is about theauthor’s ride in a hot air balloon.
About the Author
Glossary:
ballast (n) : a substance such as water,sand or metal that is carriedin ships or large balloons tohelp them remain steady
barometer (n) : a device that measures airpressure and shows whenthe weather is likely tochange
bellow (v) : utter in a loud, powerfulvoice
deflate (v) : let out air or gas from a tyre or balloonditch (n) : a long, narrow open hole that is dug into the ground, usually
at the side of a road or field, used especially for supplying orremoving water or for dividing land
docile (adj) : quiet and easy to influence, persuade, or control
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
87
Activity I (Think and respond)
r Imagine that you get a chance to be the captain of a tour
programme. What type of a captain would you like to become?
List the qualities of an ideal captain.
m m
m m
m m
Activity II (Live TV report)
r Draft a live TV Report of Le Horla's
take off.
Activity III (Dos and Don’ts)
r While planning a trip, we have to
consider many things. What are the dos
and the don'ts while doing so?
• Dos
Take a first aid kit.
.................................................
.................................................
• Don’ts
Avoid carrying expensive things.
.................................................
.................................................
Tips
• Make maximum use ofthe simple present.
• Report exactly what yousee.
• Have a good start and agood wrap-up.
• Explain the event indetail; do not avoid keyinformation.
• Link your live reportwith similar instances.
Tips
Dos and don’ts are
• usually imperatives• short and meaningful
fortification (n) : strong walls, towers, etc., that are built to protect a place
gesture (n) : a movement of the hands or head, etc., to express an idea orfeeling.
grapple (n) : an iron shaft with claws at one end, usually thrown by a ropeand used for grasping and holding, especially one for drawingand holding an enemy ship alongside
guy-rope (n) : a rope or wire that keeps a tent fixed in position on the groundinertia (n) : resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change
manoeuvre (n) : an action or movement that needs care or skill to perform;(here) the balloon ride
nudge (v) : push against gently, especially in order to gain attention orgive a signal
prodigious (adj) : very great or impressive
quail (n) : a small brown birdsteeple (n) : a tall tower forming the superstructure of a building, such as
a church or temple, and usually surmounted by a spiretinge (v) : contain a slight amount of
undulate (v) : move gently up and down in the shape of waves on the seaverdant (adj) : green
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
88
Activity IV (Comparison)
r Nothing is more amusing, more delicate, more interesting than
the manoeuvring of a balloon.
Which degree of comparison is used here?
Read the passage below.
All memory has disappeared from our minds, all troublefrom our thoughts; we have no more regrets, plans norhopes. We look, we feel, we wildly enjoy this fantasticjourney; nothing in the sky but the moon and ourselves!We are a wandering, travelling world, like our sisters, theplanets; and this little world carries five men who haveleft the earth, and who have almost forgotten it.
r Now, rewrite the passage comparing it with the life on earth. You
may begin like this:
Now our minds and thoughts are more independent than it waswhen we were on earth..........................................................
..............................................................................................
...............................................................................................
Third person objective
Third person limited
Third person omniscient
Mode of Narration Description
First person narration
Second person narration
In this mode, the narrator is usuallythe protagonist or central characterin the story.
Directions and instructions areusually narrated from the second-person’s perspective.
Third person narration
There are three distinct modes of third person narration: objective,limited, and omniscient.
The narrator does not reveal any ofthe characters’ thoughts or feelings.
The narrator reveals the thoughtsand feelings of one character throughexplicit narration.
The narration will reveal more thanone character’s internal workings;the narrator is all-knowing.
Activity V (Narration)
r Narrate the landing of the balloon from the point of view of one of
the peasants present there.
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
89
Activity VI (Travel essay)
r Travel writing is a person's account of a journey to another coun-try or place. It blends the description of physical features withpractical issues related to travel, experiences of the place andpersonal impressions. The story you have read includes all theseaspects.
Description of physical features
Practical issues related totravel
Experiences of the place
Personal impressions
Paris spreads out beneath us, a dark bluishpatch, cut by its streets, from which rise,here and there, domes, towers, steeples...
...two trumpets, the eatables, the overcoatsand raincoats, all the small articles thatcan go with the men in that flying basket.
With the help of the accommodating andhospitable Belgian peasants, we are able,in a short time, to pack up all ourmaterials...
...we float along through space in deliciousinertia. We have become somethingindescribable, birds who do not even haveto flap their wings.
Now, write a travel essay describing a travel experience you hadrecently.
Activity VII (Progressive tenses)
r Have a look at the following segments of sentences.
But the clouds are gathering behind us…Crows are crowing…
In the above segments, the action continues to take place even atthe moment of speaking. The present continuous tense form of averb is used in such a context. The verbs in the above segments ofsentences (‘gather’ and ‘crow’) are in the present continuous tenseform. Continuous tenses are also called Progressive tenses.
We use the present continuous tense to denote
m something that is happening at the moment of speaking.
m something which is happening before and after a given time.
m something which we think is temporary.
m something which is new and contrasts with a previous state.
m something which happens again and again.
m for talking about the future; for something which has been arranged
or planned.
m
m
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
90
Sentence/Segment
Context
r Pick out the instances in the story where the present continuous
tense form of the verb is used.
We are crossing...
At the moment of
speaking
r Most Indian speakers of English, however, have a tendency to
confuse the simple present with the present continuous tense.
The simple present tense is usually used to
m refer to regular actions, current situations, or facts in general.
m refer to more long-lasting or permanent situations.
m refer to actions which are going to happen very soon.
m refer to short actions happening at the time of speaking;
generally, in reviews of films or books.
m ...........................................................................................
m ...........................................................................................
r Frame a sentence on your own.
happening at the moment of speaking
happening before and after a giventime
something which is temporary
something new which contrasts witha previous state
happens again and again
has been arranged or planned
Context Sentence
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
91
THE SACRED TURTLES OF KADAVU
On the island of Kadavu (pronounced Kandavu), one of the
larger islands of the Fiji Group, and some fifty miles by
water from the capital city of Suva, is the
Fijian village of Namuana. Namuana
nestles at the foot of a beautiful bay
adjacent to the Government Station in
Vunisea Harbour. Here, the island of Kadavu narrows down
to an isthmus, and by climbing the hill behind Namuana
village, one can stand on the saddle and look out to the
sea to the south and to the north. Legend says that in the
days gone by, the warriors of Kadavu slid their canoes on
rollers up over the narrow neck of land to save the long
journey around the east and the west of Kadavu island.
The women of Namuana village still preserve a very strange
ritual, that of calling turtles from the sea. If you visit
Namuana village to see the turtle calling, your schooner
anchors in a beautiful bay right under the cliffs of a rocky
headland. You land on the beach and then, either sit on
the rocks under the bluffs on the beach or climb a rocky
tract to a point some 150 or 200 feet up the rock face.
Here, you have a splendid view and will find assembled
all the maidens of the village of Namuana, singing a strange
chant. As they chant, if you look very carefully down into
the water of the bay, you will see giant turtles rise one by
one to lie on the surface, listening to the music.
This is not a fairy tale; it actually does take place and the
water in this area is forbidden for the fishing of turtles.
Another interesting sideline to this performance is that if
any member of the nearby village of Nabukelevu is present,
then the turtles will not rise to the surface of the bay,
• How, according to the legend, did
the warriors of Kadavu save
themselves a long journey by sea?
Travel, at times, crosses the frontiers of a mere exploration of the
physical features of a landscape, and takes us far beyond to the
exploration of the real self of a land which is embedded in its customs,
traditions and rituals. Here is a travel experience that acquaints us
with a strange ritual on a Fijian island. Read on:
III. Read and reflect:
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
92
• What does the change in weather
signify?
and the turtle calling will have to be
abandoned.
As is usually the case with such strange
ceremonies and customs, in Fiji, the turtle
calling is based on an ancient legend still
passed on from father to son, among the
Fijian people of Kadavu.
Many, many years ago, in the beautiful village of Namuana,
on the island of Kadavu, lived a very lovely princess called
Tinaicoboga who was the wife of the chief of Namuana
village. Tinaicoboga had a charming
daughter called Raudalice, and the two
women often went fishing on the reefs
around their home.
Once, Tinaicoboga and Raudalice went further afield than
usual. They waded out onto the submerged reefs which
stretch out from the rocky headline to the east of the bay
on which Namuana village is situated.
They became so engrossed with their fishing that they
did not notice the stealthy approach of a great war canoe,
filled with fishermen, from the nearby village of
Nabukelevu. This village is situated in the shadow of Mount
Washington, the highest mountain on Kadavu island.
Today, Mount Washington is well known to mariners
because there is a splendid lighthouse there, warning
them of the dangers of the rocky coastline.
Suddenly, the fishermen leapt from their canoe and seized
the two women, bound their hands and
feet with vine, tossed them into the
bottom of the canoe, and set off in great
haste for home. Although the women pleaded for their
lives, the cruel warriors from Nabukelevu did not listen to
their entreaties.
The gods of the sea, however, were kind,
and soon, a great storm arose and the
canoe was tossed about by huge waves which almost
swamped it. As the canoe foundered in the sea, the
fishermen were astounded to notice that the two women,
lying in the water in the hold of the canoe, had suddenly
changed into turtles, and to save their own lives, the men
• Comment on the opening
sentence of the legend.
• What happens to the two women
when they go fishing?
• The turtles will not rise to the
surface of the bay if any member
of the nearby village of
Nabukelevu is present there.What
could be the reason?
• Are all rituals strange? Why?
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
93
seized them and threw them into the sea.
As they slipped over the side of the canoe, the weather
changed and there were no more waves.
The Nabukelevu fishermen continued their journey back
to their home village, and the two women from Namuana
who had been changed to turtles lived on in the water of
the bay. It is their descendants today who rise from the
water when the maidens of their own village sing songs
to them from the cliffs.
The translation of the strange song, which is chanted on
such occasions, is as follows:
‘The women of Namuana are all dressed
in mourning
Each carries a sacred club each tattooed in a strange
pattern
Do rise to the surface Raudalice so we may look at you
Do rise to the surface Tinaicoboga so we
may also look at you.’
You may doubt the truth of the legend, but you cannot
doubt the fact that the chanting of this strange song does,
in fact, lure the giant turtles to the surface of the blue
waters of the bay, near Namuana village, on the island of
Kadavu.
(From a Fijian Legend)
• Why are the women dressed in
mourning ?
• What do the lines of the song
indicate?
Glossary:
afield (adv) : a long distance away
entreaty (n) : an attempt to persuade someone to do something
founder (v) : fill with water and sink
isthmus (n) : a narrow piece of land that joins two larger areas and has
water on both sides.
mourning (n) : sadness felt because someone has died; also, the black clothes
that are worn in some countries as an expression of sadness
at someone’s death
reef (n) : a line of rocks or sand just above or just below the surface of
the sea, often dangerous to ships
schooner (n) : a sailing ship with at least two masts {tall poles}
swamp (v) : fill or cover something with a lot of water; (here) the canoe is
surrounded by huge waves which tossed it.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
94
Activity I (Debate)
r Who do you think are really punished: the Nabukelevu fishermen
or the two women from Namuana?
Discuss the situation in the present context of atrocities against
women.
Conduct a debate on the topic ‘Are women empowered in our soci-
ety?’
For
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
Against
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
................................................................................................
Activity II (Write-up)
r You have read the story of an unusual Fijian ritual.
Can you think of similar rituals practised in your locality?
Discuss and prepare a write-up on a ritual popular in your
locality.
About Fiji
The Republic of the Fiji Islands is a multicultural island nationwith the cultural traditions of the people of Oceanic, European,South Asian, and East Asian origins. Fiji consists ofapproximately 320 islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, about1,960 miles (3,152 kms) from Sydney, Australia. About 100 ofthese islands are inhabited.
Hints
The write up should include
• a description of the ritual (plot, characters, climax).
• the cultural, social and historical significance of the ritual.
• the relevance of the ritual in the present scenario.
Your teacher will show you the visuals of Fiji.
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
95
Activity III (Travel Brochure)
r Let’s prepare a travel brochure
of a place of your choice (a
place of tourist importance in
your locality or a tourist spot
you visited recently).
It could be
m a paper travel brochure(handmade)
a paper travel brochure(printout)
m a power point travel brochure
m a virtual travel brochure (webdesign).
m a travel brochure on a
presentation poster-board
Activity I (Translation)
r Travel writing is popular not only in English but also in Malayalam.
We have noted travel writers in Malayalam. S. K. Pottekkatt is a
prominent figure who has several books on travel to his credit.
Here is a excerpt from his novel 'Oru Desathinte Katha' followed
by its English translation ‘Tales of Athiranippadam’ .*
{io[-cs\ kw_-‘n-®n-StØmfw Ce-™n-s∏m-bn¬ ]pXn-sbmcp ambm-temI-
am-bn-cp-∂p. AXn-cm-Wn-∏m-SsØ sNfn-tØm-Sp-Ifpw HmSn-°-fn-°m-\n-S-an-√mØ
CSp-ßnb ]d-ºp-Ifpw hn´p hnim-e-kp-µ-c-am-sbmcp temIØv kz—µw
hnlcn°mw. Fs¥mcp am‰w! ]®-°-dn-tØm-∏p-I-fn-eqsS Np‰n-\S°mw.
\nd∏In-́ m¿∂ ]m∏m-Øn-I-fp-sSbpw Xpºn-I-fp-sSbpw ]n∂mse \rØw-sh®p
\oßmw. Infn-I-fpsS ]m´p-Iƒ tIƒ°mw. N°bpw amßbpw Xn∂p
aSp°pw.
To Sreedharan, Elanjippoyil was a world of wonder.
Athiranippadam had only small muddy streams and narrow
stretches of land where he could hardly move about freely. The
difference between the two places was overwhelming. At
Elanjippoyil, he could walk for hours and hours through the
vegetable gardens where bright, multi-coloured butterflies,
beetles and dragon flies fluttered about. He could run after them
with wild delight, and listen to the sweet melody of the birds. He
could stuff his tummy with jackfruits and mangoes.
TipsA travel brochure should
• open with a catchy sentencewhich is followed by short,concise sentences.
• satisfy the interest of the targetaudience.
• highlight the main features
* description of scenic beauty
* scope for adventures (skydiving, mountaineering, etc.)
* reference to local culture,customs and traditions.
• appeal to the five senses.
• present one or two positivetestimonials from past visitors.
• include attractive photographs ofthe destination.
Extended Activities
* Translated by Sreedevi K. Nair and Radhika P. Menon.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
96
• Discuss the above translation.
Tips
• Transfer the meaning; avoid word for word translation.
• Be aware of the cultural differences in languages.
• Ensure that the translation is in tune with the linguistic
features of the target language.
r Now, read the following passage in Malayalam, from the same
novel, and translate it into English.
Hcp henb NXp-∏p-]mSw Ime-{I-taW Xq¿∂p-≠mb Hcp IpSn-∏m¿∏p tI{µ-amWv
AXn-cm-Wn-∏m-Sw. ]pcm-X-\-Im-eØv Hcp sNdnb ]pg AXn-eqsS Hcp ssa¬ ]Sn-
™m-dp≈ kap-{Z-Øn-te°v Hgp-In-t®¿∂n-cp-∂p. iXm-_vZ-߃°n-S-bn¬ B ]pg
h‰n, Nfn-sI´n aqSn hen-sbmcp tXmSmbnØo¿∂p. B `mK-Øn\v ]pg-h-°Øv
F∂mWv Ct∏mgpw ]d™p hcp-∂-Xv. B tXmSpw {ItaW Xq¿∂p-Xq¿∂v Ahn-
sS-sa√mw NXp-∏p-\n-e-ßfmbn-Øo¿∂p. B NXp∏p-\n-e-ßfpw Xq¿∂p XpS-ßn-
b-t∏mƒ B ]mS-ß-fn¬ a\p-jy≥ {]th-in®p.
r r r r r You decide to conduct a tour programme. What are the different stages involved in it? Discuss.
Activity II (Travel info)
r We get information about tourist destinations from Travel Info.
Travel Info
Getting There
Heathrow Airport is one of the largest and busiest airports in Britain whichconnects the major cities in the world.
The London Metro connects you to the major tourist destinations of the city.
Don't miss out
The National Gallery
The British Museum
The Tower of London
Windsor Castle
The cuisine
Fish and Chips-a true English treat of freshly caught fish and crisp potato
fries.
Travel Info may include appropriate visiting time, how to get there, where to
dine, cultural highlights, etc.
Let’s prepare a Travel Info of a place of your choice.
Activity III (Conversation)
r Decide on a place to visit, and approach a travel agency to make
arrangements.
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
97
Write the conversation between you and the travel agent.
TipsYou should book the cheapest holiday possible, inquire about distance, price,travel time, etc.
The travel agent should try to sell the most expensive package and try toimpress the client.
Structure the conversation, using appropriate expressions.
This interactive activity aims at establishing and maintaining social relationsi.e., requesting, offering, asking/granting/refusing permission, etc.
Request
Asking to do things
Could I /May I / Can I / Do you mind if I
Asking people to do things
Can you / Could you / Will you /Would you / Do you think you could(Avoid Do you think you can)
Asking for things
Can I have/Could I have/May I have / I’d like to have
Offers
Can I /Would you like (Avoid Do you like)
Permission
Asking Permission
Can I / Could I / May I
Giving permission
You can /You may (Avoid You could )
Could I borrow the book ? Of course, you can.
Refusing permission
You can’t / You may not
Could I borrow the book ?
I am sorry. I’m afraid you can’t.
Activity IV (Introductory speech)
r Imagine yourself to be a travel guide. A group of tourists visits
one of the most popular tourist spots of your locality. How would
you welcome them?
Prepare the script of a speech you will make on the occasion,
introducing the tourist spot to the visitors.
Welcoming Tourists
..........................................................................................
..........................................................................................
..........................................................................................
Describing the location
..........................................................................................
..........................................................................................
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
98
Friends,
Our dear sister
is departing for foreign
in two-three days,
and
we are meeting today
to wish her bon voyage.
You are all knowing, friends,
what sweetness is in Miss Pushpa.
I don’t mean only external sweetness
but internal sweetness.
Miss Pushpa is smiling and smiling
even for no reason
but simply because she is feeling.
Activity V (Discussion)
r You may read the poem ‘Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T. S.’ by
Nissim Ezekiel which is given below.
In the poem, Ezekiel uses a variety of Indian English. It is in the
form of a speech made by one of Miss Pushpa’s friends.
There are grammatical mistakes, strange arrangements of words,
phrases and idioms which are direct translations of expressions
from Indian languages; all of which sound very odd in English.
Identify them and discuss.
..........................................................................................
Introducing special events / highlights
..............................................................
..............................................................
...............................................................
Offering advice (Dos & Don’ts)
..............................................................
..............................................................
...............................................................
Closing remarks
..............................................................
..............................................................
...............................................................
Tips
Speech should be
mmmmm interpersonal
mmmmm spontaneous
mmmmm loosely structured
mmmmm informal
mmmmm event oriented
mmmmm concrete
Unit - 3 BEYOND THE HORIZON
99
Miss Pushpa is coming
from very high family.
Her father was renowned advocate
in Bulsar or Surat,
I am not remembering now which place.
Surat? Ah, yes,
Once only I stayed in Surat
with family members
of my uncle’s very old friend,
his wife was cooking nicely…
that was long time ago.
Coming back to Miss Pushpa
she is most popular lady
with men also and ladies also.
Whenever I asked her to do anything,
she was saying, ‘just now only
I will do it.’ That is showing
good spirit. I am always
appreciating the good spirit.
Pushpa Miss is never saying no.
Whatever I or anybody is asking
She is always saying yes,
And today she is going
to improve her prospect
and we are wishing her bon voyage.
Now I ask other speakers to speak
and afterwards Miss Pushpa
will do summing up.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
100
Students demonstrate the ability to
• appreciate tourist destinations from different angles (physical
features, scope for adventure, traditional and cultural aspects).
• plan and organise tour programmes following the various steps
systematically.
• handle practical issues related to travel -- arranging mode of
travel, accommodation, etc.
• adopt precautionary measures, foresee the problems they
might encounter during travel.
• analyse rituals, highlighting their social and cultural
significance in the present scenario.
Thematic outcomes
Students demonstrate the ability to
• narrate events/incidents from different perspectives.
• design Travel Brochures/ Travel Info etc.
• establish and maintain social relations focusing on requesting,
offering, asking/ granting/ refusing permission.
• write about their travel experiences.
• discuss the pros and cons of an issue.
• draft the script of a live TV Report.
• translate to English passages written in Malayalam.
• differentiate between the use of the simple present and the
present continuous tense forms.
• prepare and give short speeches introducing a tourist
destination.
Linguistic outcomes
The major learning outcomes of this unit are listed below.
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
101
Disasters, both natural and man-made, have become very
common today. Whatever the form, thousands die each year due
to disasters. They also cause widespread destruction and
damage. It is the need of the hour to be informed and equipped
to face impending disasters. The concept of disaster
management has gained great currency across the globe in
recent times.
The unit entitled 'Braving the Hazards' comprises three texts.
The first is an essay written by Anjana Majumdar about disaster
management in India. The second is a short story by
A. J. Cronin. The third is a poem by Benjamin Peck Keith about
the wreck of the ship Titanic. In addition, there is also a
newspaper report and an excerpt from the essay 'On Courage',
by A. G. Gardiner.
The texts and the activities of this unit aim to make the learners
aware of different disasters, and to equip them to act promptly
in moments of crisis.
About the Unit
4Unit
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
102
1. Examine the pictures given below.
m What do these pictures tell us about?
m Note down all the ideas that come to your mind about them.
m Share your thoughtss with your friends. Collect ideas fromthem, and enrich your understanding of the subject.
Let’s begin:
Let’s discuss
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
103
DISASTERS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
Anjana MajumdarDisaster is a very common phenomenon for humanity.
Human beings have experienced disasters in different
forms since time immemorial. The latest World
Disaster Report suggests that disasters have
increased both in frequency and intensity.
People are becoming more and more vulnerable
to disasters of all types, which include
earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides,
droughts, accidents, plane crashes, forest fires, etc. This
is quite true in the case of both developed and
developing countries. The floods in the UK and
France, and the heat waves in Europe,
particularly the one in France in 2003, claimed
lots of lives. In the last few years, America has also faced
devastating disasters in the form of tornadoes, hurricanes
and cyclones. They caused great loss of lives and property.
Even though the progress in technology is helping human
beings to reduce the impact of the disasters, it is still
inadequate.
There is a direct correlation between higher human
development and better preparedness to manage
disasters. The countries which have lower
human development are more vulnerable to the
risks of disasters and damage.
Of all the disasters, floods are the most common, followed
by windstorms, droughts and earthquakes.
However, drought is the deadliest, accounting
for 48 per cent of deaths due to natural disasters. Of all
the continents, Asia has the highest number of death toll
from disasters. India, China and Bangladesh are situated
in the Asian continent.
India, due to its geographical location and geological
formation, is highly prone to disasters. Its long coastline,
snow-clad peaks and high mountain ranges and
the perennial rivers in the north, combine to
• What does the recent
World Disaster Report
say about disasters?
• What are some of the
common disasters?
• What is true about both
developed and
developing countries?
• What is the relationship
between human
development and
disaster preparedness?
• Which is the deadliest
disaster?
• What makes India more
vulnerable to disasters?
Disasters --- both natural and man-made cause widespread damageand destruction. It is high time that we became aware of and equippedourselves to face impending disasters. Here is an essay about disastersand their management in the Indian context.
I. Read and reflect:
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
104
add to this problem. India, which has only two per cent of
the total geographical area, has to support 18 per cent of
the total population of the world. Therefore,
there is tremendous pressure on the natural
resources, which directly or indirectly leads
to the occurrence of disasters, namely floods, droughts,
landslides, earthquakes, etc.
The northern region of India faces problems due to
landslides, floods, droughts, and earthquakes, because
this region falls under the seismic zones III to V. The
eastern region is confronted with heavy floods in the
perennial rivers which include the Brahmaputra, the
Ganga, etc. Drought, heatwaves, hailstorms, cyclones,
heavy winds and earthquakes are also common in this
region. The north-eastern region encounters floods,
landslides, and earthquakes. This region comes under
the seismic zones IV and V.
The western region is widely known for severe droughts,
wind erosion of land and soil, floods and cyclones. This
area is also prone to earthquakes. The southern region,
particularly the coastal region, is vulnerable to cyclones,
sea erosion, tsunami, and landslides. The islands of
Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep are confronted
with the problems of sea erosion and tsunami. The Indian
coastal areas have faced some of the severest cyclones
both along the eastern and western coasts.
Among all the disasters in India, the tsunami
is a relatively new phenomenon. Due to the
lack of an adequate warning system, the
tsunami of 2004 devastated a large portion of
the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra
Pradesh, besides the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It
claimed a large number of lives and destroyed property
worth crores of rupees.
India has faced a number of disasters, ranging from
natural disasters like floods, earthquakes,
cyclones, tsunami, drought and landslides to
man-made disasters like the Bhopal Gas
Tragedy (1984). During this century, India has
witnessed some major disasters which include the Gujarat
• What causes tremendous
pressure on the natural
resources in India?
• Which is a relatively new
natural disaster in
India?
• Which is the man-made
disaster that India
witnessed in the last
century?
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
105
• Which are the lifeline
support systems that get
damaged in disasters?
• Which is the man-made
disaster mentioned here?
• Which section of the
society is most affected
by disasters? Why?
• What measures need to
be taken to ensure the
safety and security of the
buildings?
• What are the major
limitations in constructing
safe and secure buildings?
earthquake (2001), the Mumbai-Gujarat floods
(2005), the tsunami (2004), the Uttarkhand
flashfloods and the hurricane Phailin in coastal
Orissa and Andhra Pradesh (2013).
The direct and indirect impacts of disasters,
either natural or industrial, are always damage,
destruction and death. When disaster strikes,
the lifeline support systems, namely communication,
power supply, water supply, drainage, etc. are damaged.
Moreover, healthcare and hospitals are also put under
severe stress. Commercial and economic activities are
also badly affected. Life almost comes to a standstill. The
psychological traumas caused by the disasters are
sometimes so severe that they span the whole life of the
victim. Therefore, along with other rehabilitation works,
psychological rehabilitation should also be given
due importance.
The impact is almost the same even in the case
of man-made disasters like riots. The most
affected are the poor sections of society, who
have to work daily to earn their livelihood.
In some natural disasters like cyclones, tsunami and
earthquake, it is the building structure which becomes
the cause of destruction and death. In developing
countries, only 30 per cent of the buildings are constructed
in accordance with the regulations laid down for ensuring
safety and security. Similarly, the lack of a
master-plan and the inferior quality of
materials used for construction also aggravate
the casualties arising out of disasters.
Therefore, both private and public buildings
should be constructed according to the
guidelines prescribed by law. Moreover,
constructions should strictly adhere to the
master-plan approved by the authorities. Above
all, good quality materials should be used for
construction.
The UNDAC,* along with the Government ofIndia, has jointly prepared an action-plan for cities
and towns vulnerable to earthquakes. In
• Name some of the major
natural disasters faced
by India during this
century.
• What is the requirement
in the areas vulnerable
to earthquakes in order
to reduce damage and
death?
*(UNDAC - United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination)
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
106
• What is the structure of
the state and central
level committees of
disaster management?
• How does the central
government coordinate
disaster management
activities in India?
• What are the special
requirements of the
rescue team, according
to the author?
• What is the purpose of
disaster management?
vulnerable areas, the existing buildings should be
technically assessed and individual owners and group-
housing authorities should be informed about theweaknesses in their construction. Presently, it is estimated
that around one million buildings are constructed every
year in India, and an equal number of them gets damagedas a result of disasters. In order to reduce the damage to
buildings, a monitoring mechanism should be set
up in disaster prone areas which must act inproper coordination with the concerned
authorities to ensure the fulfilment of building
codes.
In the case of disaster management, the state governmentsplay a major role while the central government only plays
a facilitating role. At the state level, there is a State Level
Disaster Management Committee consisting of the seniorsecretaries of various departments and the representatives
of NGOs. At the national level, there is a Crisis Management
Committee, headed by the Cabinet Secretary andthe secretaries from the major departments of
the government. The central government, with
proper coordination with various ministries,provides necessary support to the states, which
includes defence services like air dropping, rescuing,
searching, transport of relief goods, etc., and availability ofrail and ferry services, health personnel and medical
support.
Rehabilitation is an integral part of disaster management.
Since disasters are non-routine events, they require non-routine responses for effective management and
rehabilitation. This means that the Government
cannot rely on normal procedures to implementappropriate responses. There should be proper
coordination among the various departments of the
government to bring speedy relief to the victim. Moreover,the rescue teams require the learning of special skills and
attitudes in dealing with disasters. Additionally, they need
to be well-equipped with the latest technologies.
Disaster management has assumed greater
importance in recent times. The whole purpose
of disaster management is not to prevent these natural or
man-made disasters. We may not be able to avert many of
these disasters, but we can definitely mitigate their impact.
(Adapted)
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
107
Activity I (Note-making)
r You have read the essay ‘Disasters and Disaster Management in
India.’ Given below is an outline of the notes on this essay. Read
the essay carefully again and complete the notes.
‘Disasters and Disaster Management in India’
1. Disasters --- the global scenario
1.1. a challenge for all humanity
1.2. increase in frequency and intensity
1.3.
1.4.
1.5. floods --- more common. India, China and Bangladesh - mostaffected
1.6. drought --- deadliest (40% of all deaths from disasters)
2. Disasters --- Indian Context
2.1. highly prone to disasters
2.2. reasons for vulnerability
2.2.1.
2.2.2.
2.2.3.
2.3. different kinds of disasters in India --- Regional
2.3.1. Northern region
2.3.2.
2.3.3.
2.3.3.
2.3.4.
2.3.5.
2.3.6.
2.4. major disasters in this century
Glossary:
seismic (adj) : related to the vibration of the earth orearthquake
tectonic forces (n) : forces arising out of the movements of theearth's crust
vulnerable (adj) : susceptible
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
108
2.4.1
2.4.2
2.4.3.
2.4.4.
2.4.5.
3. The direct and indirect impact of disasters
3.1.
3.2.
3.3.
3.4.
3.5. poor sections --- most affected
4. Risk due to disaster --- need for safer buildings
4.1. cyclones, tsunami, earthquakes, defects in construction ofbuilding can cause greater destruction.
4.2. scenario in the developing countries
4.2.1.
4.2.2.
4.2.3.
4.3. suggestions for safer infrastructure
4.3.1.
4.3.2.
4.3.3.
5. Management in India
5.1. purpose --- not prevention, but reduction of impact
5.2. state government
5.2.1. role ---
5.2.2. structure ---
5.3. central government
5.3.1. role ---
5.3.2. structure ---
5.3.3. support offered ---
5.4. rehabilitation of victims
5.4.1.
5.4.2.
5.4.3. rescue teams --- additional skills, and equipped withlatest technology.
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
109
Activity II (Writing a Précis)
r You have read the essay and prepared notes on 'Disasters andDisaster Management in India.' Based on the notes you prepared,write a précis of the essay. A précis, usually, is one-third thesize of the original text.
Activity III (Think and respond)
m What are some of the disasters (natural/man-made and industrial)
your locality has witnessed in the last ten years? What were the
impact of these disasters on man and nature?
m Is your locality prepared to manage any potential disaster? If not,
what precautions can be taken to prevent and manage possible
disasters?
m The author says that disaster management in India is the
responsibility of the state and central governments. Do you agree
with this view? Do you think that the people of our country have a
role in preventing and managing disasters?
m What do you think about the measures of rehabilitation that are
adopted after each disaster? Do you think the measures are
sufficient?
Activity IV (Explore the roots)
r Disaster - Dys + aster
‘Disaster’ and ‘disastrous’ originate from the Greek word ‘astron’ which
means star. In ancient times, it was believed that the stars shaped
human destiny; any misfortune or calamity, therefore, happened to
someone because the stars were not favourable. The prefix ‘dys’-
here means ‘against’.
Here is a list of words which are derived from the Greek root ‘astron’.
All these words are related to stars. Find out the meaning of these
words.
1. Astronomy
2. Astrophysics
3. Astronaut
4. Aster
5. Asterisk
6. Astrologer
7. Asteroid
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
110
Clues:
ACROSS
1. A violently destructive windstorm occurring over land,characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward theground.
3. Vibration on the earth's surface resulting from undergroundmovement.
5. Molten rock that flows out of an erupting volcano.
6. Widespread scarcity of food due to crop failure, populationimbalance, etc.
8. Gravitational movement of a mass of rock, earth or debris downa slope.
10. A rotating column of air, whirling in destructive speed.
11. A tropical storm with winds that have a speed of 74 miles perhour or more.
DOWN:
2. A high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other distur-bances.
4. A mass of snow, ice and rocks falling rapidly down amountainside.
7. The luxury ocean liner Titanic hit an ___ berg in the Atlantic.9. A violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds,
and usually rain, thunder, lightning or snow.
r Here is a crossword puzzle about natural calamities. Use the
clues below to solve the puzzle.
W I S E R
Activity V (Crossword puzzle)
T1
T2
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
111
Activity VI (Project)
The author says that ‘Of all the disasters, floods are the mostcommon…………… India, China and Bangladesh are the most affectedby floods.’ In Kerala also, we experience floods during the monsoon.The water levels of rivers rise, flooding cities and towns. What arethe reasons for this flooding?
Investigate the reasons for flooding in your locality. Write a report ofyour findings. Make an ICT assisted presentation.
Activity VII (Collection)
We are highly vulnerable to many natural disasters. While some failto act in the moment of crisis or become victims of these disasters,some others rise up to the occasion and help the victims. Here is anewspaper report about four children who won bravery awards for
their timely and heroic action in a moment of crisis.
Bravery award for children
Thiruvananthapuram: Four children from Kerala will be among
the recipients of this year's National Bravery Awards at the
next Republic Day function, in New Delhi.
They include Jismi P. M., who was selected for the Geetha
Chopra Award, Vishnudas K., the winner of the Bapu GayadhaniAward; and Anoop M. and Raj Narayanan, both selected for the
general award.
Jismi, 12, a native of Perinchery in Thrissur district, was chosenfor the award for saving a woman and her two children from
drowning in a pond. A Class IX student of the Government
Vocational Higher Secondary School at Cherpu, Jismi is thedaughter of a manual labourer.
Vishnudas won the award for saving two children from a waterygrave. A native of Palakkad, he is a Plus One student of the Sri
Sankara Oriental Higher Secondary School, Lakkidi.
Anoop, a Class VIII student of the Bishop Kuriyalanchery PublicSchool at Chambakulam, bagged the award for saving a 5-year-
old from drowning in a lake. Raj Narayanan, the fourth nominee,
was selected for saving a boy from drowning in a river inAlappuzha. Raj is a Class IX student of the NSS High School,
Kuttanad. The General Secretary of the Kerala State Child
Welfare Council P. Krishnan, said Jismi is the first winner ofthe Geetha Chopra Award, from Kerala.
r Now, collect such newspaper reports and discuss with your
friends how children can act timely in moments of crisis.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
112
THE SERANG OF RANAGANJI
Dr A. J. Cronin
'Look, my dear! Did you ever in your life see such an
absurdly comic creature!' A smartly dressed woman,
first-class passenger on the Ranaganji, about to sail
from Liverpool on the long voyage to Calcutta, made
this remark, in a high 'well-bred' voice, to her
companion, as they stood before me on the
liner's upper deck.
Following their amused gaze, my eyes came
to rest upon a squat, very ugly native seaman, with
short legs and a large disproportionate head. I
recognized him as the Indian serang, or quarter-master
of the ship. He was quietly superintending the crew of
lascars now completing the loading of baggage. 'Looks
hardly human,' agreed the man, with a superior smile.
'Inclines a chap to believe, that dear old Darwin was
not altogether wrong…eh?'
The voyage began favourably in calm, clear weather.
We crossed the Bay of Biscay without suffering unduly
from the turbulent waters and soon were through the
Strait of Gibraltar, traversing the tranquil Mediterranean
under azure skies. The Ranaganji was a stout old tub,
manned by white officers, with an entirely native Indian
crew. I was the physician of the ship and was delighted
by the balmy breezes and brilliant sunshine.
The ship was crowded, packed with passengers from
stem to stern --- the usual tourists and pleasure seekers,
together with a large number of Anglo-Indian army
officers, many of whom were accompanied
by their wives and families. From the first
night out there was tremendous gaiety on
• What was notable about
the appearance of the
Indian serang?
• Who were the passengers
on the Ranaganji?
Here is a story about a voyage from Liverpool to Calcutta during the
British rule in India. It tells how the author and the hero of the story
manage a potential calamity, silently and bravely.
II. Read and reflect:
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
113
board. The chief among the social promoters was Miss
Jope-Smith, the woman whom I had overheard on the
boat deck the morning of our departure.
Madge Jope-Smith was a thrusting person, obviously
over thirty, got up in a dashing style to look younger.
She was not only a snob but a bore, an assertive bore.
We reached Port Said. Everyone went ashore excitedly,
came back with silks, shawls, cigarettes, scent, and
jewellery. Then we were through the Red Sea, past the
barren rocks of Aden, and out upon the wide
Arabian Sea.
On the following morning, as I held my
consultations in the surgery adjoining my cabin, the
serang, Hasan, appeared, bringing with him two of his
lascar deck hands. He inclined his head in a respectful
salaam and addressed me. His voice was hoarse, yet it
had a steady undertone. 'Doctor Sahib, I fear these men
are sick.'
The seamen certainly did not look well; they complained
of general malaise, of intense headache and racking
bone pains. They looked frightened too, as I asked them
to strip and began my examination. Both were
fevered, with thickly furred tongues and that
dry skin, which is nature's gravest warning. And
then, to my horror, my palpitating fingers
became aware of a scattering of hard little
nodules, under the wrist skin of each man. It
was an unmistakable symptom of smallpox.
Young and inexperienced in my profession, I
had not learned to control my feelings. My expression
must have altered visibly, for although the serang said
nothing, his lined and battered face assumed a look of
deeper gravity. Hurriedly, with beating heart, I made
my way to the bridge.
Captain Hamble was not there, but in the chartroom
below. He looked up sharply as I burst in. 'Sir,' my
voice broke, 'I have to report smallpox on board. Two of
the deck hands.' I saw his lips draw tightly together.
• Who was Miss Jope-
Smith? Write a short
character sketch.
• What was the condition
of the seamen who were
brought by the serang to
Dr Cronin?
How did AJ Cronin
conclude that the seamen
were infected with
smallpox?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
114
He was a thickset man of fifty-five, known as a
strict disciplinarian, but also as a just and fair-
minded officer.
'Doctor,' he said, drawing up at last and
coming close to me, his words unmistakably
grim, 'Listen, you are in charge of the health of the
ship. It's entirely up to you. I can't give you any of my
officers; I'm overloaded and understaffed. But I am going
to give you the serang. Believe me, he's the finest man
I have. You've got to keep this thing from spreading.
And what's more, don't let a whisper of it get out, or
we'll have a bloody panic.'
I left the chartroom, realizing, with a weakness in my
stomach, the desperate responsibility of my position.
Here we were, in the middle of the Arabian Sea, fifteen
hundred passengers aboard, no means whatever of
vaccinating them, and smallpox--- the most deadly
contagion in the whole dictionary of disease.
Back in the surgery, one of the lascars was in the grip
of a violent rigour. I turned from the shivering man to
the serang, whose incalculable eyes remained fixed
upon me. 'We've got to isolate these men…. Check on
the contacts…' There was no sick bay on board, not an
inch of available cabin space. Baffled, I looked at the
serang, who, undismayed, again turned upon me the
full force of his eyes. 'We will make a shelter on the
afterdeck, Doctor Sahib. Very cool there. With plenty
of fresh air.'
In the stern of the ship, protected from view by a battery
of derricks and donkey engines, he set to work. Within
an hour, he had erected, with silent efficiency, a large
canvas shelter. Mattresses and sheets were then brought
up and the two patients were comfortably installed.
Our next step was to muster the crew for a thorough
medical inspection. One of the stokers, who complained
of fever and headache, showed the prodromal nodules
with the beginnings of the typical rash. He was isolated
with the other cases.
• Describe Captain
Hamble. What was his
reaction when he heard
about the breakout of
smallpox on the ship?
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
115
'And now, who is going to help me attend these men?'
Hasan glanced at me in surprise. 'Why, naturally it is
I.'
'You must be careful. This disease is most contagious.'
'I am not afraid, Doctor Sahib.'
Together, Hasan and I sponged the patients with
permanganate solution, administered to each
man a strong antipyretic, hung sheets soaked
in disinfectant round the shelter, and set up
within this little secret area, a cooking stove where
liquids could be heated and simple meals prepared.
Next morning, however, brought
fresh cause for concern. I found
three new cases among the
deck hands. The men, already
segregated, were much worse.
And that same afternoon, four
more of the crew sickened. We
now had ten cases in our
makeshift lazaretto. It was a
situation to test the strongest
nerves. But the serang, calm
and unperturbed, gave me fresh heart. In tending the
patients he was indefatigable.
'Be careful of yourself,’ I had to beg him. ‘Do not go
quite so close.'
Now he showed his strong teeth, in a sudden, fleeting
smile. 'Are you careful of yourself, Doctor Sahib?'
'Indeed I am. Besides, this is my work.'
'Do not worry, Doctor Sahib. I am strong. And
it is my work too.'
I was so weighed down by responsibility that I had slight
concern for myself. Although we were moving full steam
ahead, Colombo, the nearest port of call, was still eight
days away. In the course of the next forty-eight hours
four more stokers went to join the others on the
• Where and how was the
shelter for the infected
patients made?
• How did the serang take
care of the diseased
patients?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
116
• What information did Dr
Cronin collect about the
serang?
• What was Hasan’s
attitude to life, as
explained to Cronin?
afterdeck. A total of fourteen now. And one of the earlier
victims had lapsed into a coma, seemed likely to die at
any hour. Under this added load, I could not sleep.
And there, where I knew I should find him, watchfuland mute under the stars, was the serang. How shall Idescribe the solace which flowed towards me from himas he stood there in meditation, with his long armsfolded on his bare chest, motionless as a statue? Whena sick man groaned faintly, he would step forward,without sound, to succour him. And then, returning,he would fold his arms, while the ship surged slowlyforward.
Hasan had no fondness for speech. Butdespite the silences of our long night vigils, Igathered some fragments of his history. Hewas from the Punjab, whence his parents hadwandered to southern India. There, like so many in thecoastal area, he had taken to a seafaring life. For nearlyforty years, he had given himself to the oceans of theworld, and fifteen of these years had been spent in theRanaganji. Indeed, he had no place on shore, neitherfamily nor friends in the great land mass of India. Hehad never married.
By religion he was a Muslim. All his life he had acquirednothing, neither property nor money; his fewpossessions, contained in his ship’s chest, might beworth a few rupees. The thought hurt me, and in anaccess of mistaken sympathy, I exclaimed: 'Hasan, youare doing so much in this emergency; the companymust give you extra pay.' His forehead creasedperplexedly. He was silent for a long moment. Then heanswered: 'What use is money, Doctor Sahib, to onewho has all he needs? I am well enough the way I am.'
He was unmistakably sincere, completely detached fromthe usual hope of reward. Money had nointerest for him, he had always despised it.Instead he had courage, self-control, andfaith. The men he worked among lived poorand died poor. It had become the habit of his mind todisregard tomorrow.
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
117
Standing with him, in the liquid moonlight, I was stungby a strange pang. Beside his clear simplicity, theworld's values suddenly seemed dross. A great partyhad started in the saloon. Indeed, as I viewed my ownoutlook towards the future, my passionate desire forsuccess and wealth, I was conscious of a secret shame.
On the following day, we lost two of our patients. It wasHasan himself who sewed their shrouds, who in hishoarse and hollow voice read aloud a short passage fromthe Ramayana before their bodies, wrapped in sailcloth,with a weight at their feet, were cast overboard atmidnight.
No fresh cases developed. And a week later, we anchoredoff Colombo. Soon, the sick men had been taken off tohospital. Several of the patients showed signs of havingpassed the crisis, but three, helpless and delirious, amass of running sores, were carried in the arms ofHasan. As we stood together, I saw that the serang'sdark cheeks were wet with tears.
Our passage through the Bay of Bengal was brief anduneventful. I had barely time to recover myself, or torealize that the epidemic had been confined, before wewere anchored alongside the quay at Calcutta.
Suddenly, at my elbow, I heard the familiar shrilling ofMiss Jope-Smith. 'Oh, look, look,Ronnie. There's that absurd creatureagain.' Once more, I followed theirunited gaze. And there again, down inthe afterhold, knocking out the hatchbattens to unload the baggage, was theobject of their mirth -- Hasan.
The huntress from Cheltenham swunground, bent her wit, her fascinationsupon me. 'Where did you keep himduring the entire voyage, Doctor dear?In a special cage?'
Silence -- a vision of the serang's nobilityrising before me. 'Yes... in a way… it
was a cage… But isn't it queer, Miss
Jope-Smith, the animals were all outside.'
A. J. Cronin (1896-1981) was aScottish novelist and physicianby profession. His major novels
include Hatter's Castle (1931), TheStars Look Down (1935), The Citadel(1937), The Keys of the Kingdom(1942), The Green Years (1944),Shannon's Way (1948), A Thing ofBeauty (1956), The Judas Tree (1961)and A Song of Sixpence (1964).
His strengths as a novelist are his keenobservation, graphic description andhis narrative skill. The excerpt is takenfrom ‘Adventures in Two Worlds,’ hisautobiographical novel. It is ananecdote from his experience as asurgeon in the Royal Navy.
About the Author
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
118
Activity I (Think and respond)
1. Do you agree with A. J. Cronin's remark that 'the animals were
all outside.’ Why?
2. Do you think that A. J. Cronin should have reported the selfless
efforts of Hasan to the authorities and recommended him for
rewards and promotion?
3. How is the world view of the passengers in general different from
that of Hasan?
4. ‘Why, naturally it is me.’ These words show that Hasan is ever
ready to shoulder any responsibility happily. Comment on Hasan's
ability to volunteer at the time of an emergency.
Activity II (Letter)
r You know that A. J. Cronin, the physician of the ship is extremely
impressed by the service of Hasan. Imagine that after the voyage,
Cronin writes a letter to the director of the company which owns
the ship Ranaganji, detailing the selfless service Hasan rendered
during the voyage. He also requests the director to reward Hasan
with a promotion in return for his service. Draft the letter which
Cronin would write.
Glossary:
antipyretic (adj) : a medicine that reduces fever
impromptu (adj) : (here) without proper preparation
lazaretto (n) : (here) the isolated shelter made for treating the
infected patients
leitmotif (n) : repeated theme
papular (adj) : related to small, solid, usually inflammatory elevation
of the skin that does not contain pus.
prodromal (adj) : symptomatic of the onset of an attack or a disease
purulent (adj) : containing pus
serang (n) : a petty officer in a merchant ship; a boatswain; a lascar
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
119
Activity V (Word power)
r The parts of a ship
Here is a picture of a ship. Mark as many parts as you know.
Activity III (Speech)
r The Director of the Company receives the letter from A. J. Cronin.
He is pleased with the service rendered by Hasan throughout the
voyage. They arrange a special get-together of all the officials
and crew of the ship. In that get-together, the Managing Director
of the company announces that the company appreciates the
service of Hasan, and promotes him as the Chief Petty Officer of
the ship. The Director invites Hasan to speak a few words on this
occasion.
Imagine that you are Hasan. What would be your reaction and
feeling at this moment? Draft a speech that you would deliver on
the occasion.
Activity IV (Role-play)
r Miss Jope-Smith soon hears about the promotion given to Hasan
and the reason for the promotion. She feels sorry for her
prejudiced remarks about him. She decides to meet Hasan in
person, and congratulate him for his efforts and the promotion
he has received.
Form pairs. Imagine that one of you is Ms. Jope-Smith and the
other is Hasan. Role-play the whole conversation between Jope-
Smith and Hasan.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
120
Activity VI
The Past participle as Adjective
r Study the following expressions carefully.a. smartly-dressed womanb. well-bred voicec. amused gazed. titled friends
The expressions smartly-dressed, well-bred, amused and titled are used
as adjectives. They are the past participle form of the verbs dress,breed, amuse and title respectively. So, you know that the past participleforms of some verbs can be used as adjectives.
m A. J. Cronin has used many such expressions in the story 'The
Serang of Ranaganji.'
Find out more expressions from the story where the past participleforms of the verbs have been used as adjectives. Explain the meaningof these expressions to your friends.
e.g. added source --- a source which is added to something.
m
m
The crew of the ship
m Who are the professionals working in a ship?
m What do they do?
In the table given below, list the different professionals of a ship and
their duties.
Professionals Duties
Captain the person in charge of a ship
Language Note
Prefixes like under-, over-, etc., can also be added to the past
participle form of a verb to function as an adjective. e.g. over-
crowded ship, understaffed crew.
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
121
Activity VII (Think and discuss)
Adverbs of frequency
r Read the following lines from the text carefully.
a. He had never married.
b. Money had no interest for him, he had always despised it.
m What is the meaning of the words underlined?
m What is the function of these words?
Language tips
‘Never’ and ‘always’ are adverbs of frequency - which tell you
how often an action is done.
Here is a continuum which will help you to understand some of
the adverbs of frequency and their meanings.
Inversion with negative adverbs
Words like 'never, rarely, seldom, barely, hardly,’ etc., are negativeadverbs. We use these adverbs at the beginning of a sentence to give
emphasis. When we begin a sentence with negative adverbs, the
word order is inverted. (negative adverb + auxiliary verb + subject………)
In addition to the adverbs mentioned above, when adverbs like 'no
sooner …. than, not until, only after, only if, only when, not only……but also, little’ (with a negative meaning), etc., are used at the
beginning of a sentence, the normal word order will be reversed.
e.g.
m Never did I dream of becoming a leader!
m No sooner did he find his teacher than he ran towards her.
frequently regularly always
sometimes usually nearly always
never hardly ever not usually
scarcely
seldom
rarely
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
122
Practise (Inversion of word order with adverbs)
m The sentences given below contain errors. Identify the error andcorrect them.
1. Seldom they have reached the office on time.
2. Only when the last visitor left the museum he closed the gate.
3. Little he knew about the nature of the job he was undertaking.
4. Not until next year, there will be a new vacancy.
5. Hardly I had reached the station when the train arrived.
Activity VIII (Passivisation)
r Study the following sentences carefully.
m Soon, the sick men had been taken off to the hospital.
m Mattresses and sheets were then brought up and the two
patients were comfortably installed.
Do these sentences tell you anything about the doer of the action?Why?
m Rewrite these sentences without changing the meaning. (Beginthe sentences with 'they')
m Given below is a flow chart that offers you clues about the stepstaken by Cronin and Hasan to prevent the spreading of smallpoxin the ship. Go through it carefully, and prepare a report of how
they controlled the spreading of smallpox in the ship.
2 deck lascars with fever - brought to Cronin
Both patients - examined - smallpox confirmed
Evacuation room prepared, patients isolated
All crew examined, more cases identified
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
123
Whole incident - kept a secret
2 dead, rest survived. Smallpox controlled, prevented from spreading
Activity II (Read and compare)
In the short story 'The Serang of Ranaganji,' you had read about the
heroic action of the narrator and the Serang to save the lives of the
crew and the passengers of the ship. While moments of crisis push
many of us into action, they elevate some of us to the level of martyrs
who sacrifice their lives for the common good. Here is an excerpt
from the essay 'On Courage' written by A.G. Gardiner about one such
supreme sacrifice.
Activity I
r Given below is a list of some of the cases in which first-aid would
be required. You may add more to the list.
m Injured leg - bleeding
m Fractured hand
m Burnt fingers
m Fits
m Snake bite
m
m
What first-aid would you give in these situations? Search the internet
or seek the help of a medical practitioner to collect the details.
Form groups and prepare a first-aid chart for the emergency situations
given above. Include visuals and precise instructions.
Extended Activities
All patients isolated, treated
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
124
On Courage
... But if I were asked to name the instance of individual action
which had most impressed me, I should find the task more difficult.
Should I select something that shows how war depraves, or
something that shows how it ennobles? If the latter, I think I
would choose that beautiful incident of the sailor on the
Formidable.
He had won by ballot a place in one of the boats. The ship was
going down, but he was to be saved. One pictures the scene: The
boat is waiting to take him to the shore and safety. He looks at
the old comrades who have lost in the ballot and who stand there
doomed to death. He feels the passion for life surging within him.
He sees the cold, dark sea waiting to engulf its victims. And in
that great moment -- the greatest moment that can come to any
man -- he makes the triumphant choice. He turns to one of his
comrades. ‘You've got parents,’ he says. ‘I haven't.’ And with that
word -- so heroic in its simplicity -- he makes the other take his
place in the boat and signs his own death warrant.
I see him on the deck among his doomed fellows, watching the
disappearing boat until the final plunge comes and all is over. The
sea never took a braver man to its bosom. ‘Greater love hath no
man than this ...’
Can you read that story without some tumult within you -- without
feeling that humanity itself is ennobled by this great act and that
you are, in some mysterious way, better for the deed? That is the
splendid fruit of all such sublime sacrifice. It enriches the whole
human family. It makes us lift our heads with pride that we are
men -- that there is in us at our best this noble gift of valiant
unselfishness, this glorious prodigality that spends life itself for
something greater than life. If we had met this nameless sailor,
we should have found him, perhaps, a very ordinary man, with
plenty of failings, doubtless, like the rest of us, and without any
idea that he had in him the priceless jewel beside which crowns
and coronets are empty baubles. He was something greater than
he knew.
m ‘The sea never took a braver man to its bosom’. What does Gardiner
mean by this expression? Do you agree with Gardiner? Write
your views in a paragraph.
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
125
THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC
Benjamin Peck Keith
Out of Southampton she swung with the stream,A poem of iron and steel, A sea dream.And thousands on shore, watched her steaming away:The largest, and grandest of all ships that day.
And the thousand on board, did security feel,For no eye saw death, as he stood at the wheel;Directing her course to the echoless shore,Her first and last haven of nevermore.
She was the last, best work of men,And on her first voyage was speeding -- when:Out of the darkness, Out of the night,Loomed an ominous form of ghostly white.
"Twas a towering mountain of ice -- gigantic,As ever was seen on the North Atlantic.She struck, with a shiver from stem to stern:And was rapidly sinking -- All soon did learn.
Now, examine the pictures carefully
m Can you recognize the ship and the incident?m Do you know how the passengers and the crew of the ship
responded to this situation?
Here is a poem about one of the greatest tragedies at sea. On 14 April,
1912, the Titanic, which carried 2100 passengers and crew, collided
with an iceberg and sank into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
However, this tragedy also exposed some of the greatest acts of courage
and heroism. Now, read the poem.
III. Read and enjoy:
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
126
Then Captain Smith, her commander brave,Thought not one moment, his own life to save,But stood on the bridge, calling out to the crew:Remember your country, Be British, be true.
And England, and Ireland, and Scotland, and Wales,Proved there to the World: Their valor ne'er fails,‘The women and children first,’ was their cry,And every one of the Crew, stood by.
And the boats were lowered and sent away,That cut off all hope, save eternity,And, The Titanic sank from sight, 'neath the SeaWhile her band played, Nearer My God to Thee.
Was there ever a scene so awfully grand?As that sinking ship, with her playing band.All glory to Smith, and the Titanic's men,They bring Trafalgar's heroes to memory again.
And that heart thrilling tale of the Alamo,And the last grand charge at Waterloo,And that charge of "The Light Brigade" as well,And Jim Bludso's act on "The Prairie Belle."
And with these down the corridors of all time,The Titanic's story shall sound sublime,For never was courage more noble and true,Than was shown on that night, by the Titanic's crew.
Notes:Trafalgar : The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805)was a naval engagement fought by the Royal Navyagainst the combined fleets of the French andSpanish Navies.
Alamo: The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 - March6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution.The Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battleof San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending therevolution.
Waterloo : The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18June, 1815, near Waterloo in present-day Belgium.Emperor Napoleon was defeated by the armies ofthe Seventh Coalition.
The Light Brigade: The Charge of the Light Brigadewas a charge of British light cavalry against Russianforces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October1854.
Jim Bludso was an engineer who died while savingthe lives of the passengers of a boat called PrairieBell on the Mississippi river. He became instantlypopular, and John Hay wrote a poem about him
entitled ‘Jim Bludso of the Prairie Bell’ in 1871.
Benjamin Peck Keith (1856-1927)
Benjamin Peck Keith was anAmerican poet. His famous
collection of poems include ‘Spoonsof Silver Spoons of Tin, and OtherPoems’ (1921). He has written a lot ofshort poems. 'The Wreck of the Titanic'is one of his famous poems.
About the Author
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
127
Activity I (Read and respond)
a. Why was the Titanic called ‘a poem of iron and steel?’
b. What was the feeling of the people on board when they startedthe journey?
c. What was the ‘ominous form’ which loomed out of the darkness?
d. Why was Captain Smith, the commander of the ship, called ‘brave’?
e. Who got the top priority to be rescued from the sinking Titanic?
f. What was the only hope for the people of the sinking Titanicwhen all the boats sailed away?
g. What were the bandsmen doing when the Titanic was sinking?
h. What was the 'awfully grand' scene, according to the poet?
i. Why would the story of the Titanic be remembered always?
Activity II (Read and reflect)
r The crew of the Titanic were real heroes because even in the
face of death, they were duty-bound, upholding certain valuesand principles. Do you know any such person who has upheld
moral values and principles, even in the moment of death? Have
you heard/read about any such persons? Share your answer withyour friends.
Activity III (Appreciation)
r Read the poem more critically again, and think of it in terms of
its theme, emotion, language and relevance. Add more points to
each of the boxes given below related to the theme, emotion,
language and relevance of the poem.
Theme
1. shipwreck
2. ....................
3. ....................
Language
1. simple
2. ....................
3. ....................
Emotion
1. patriotism
2. ....................
3. ....................
Relevance
1. insights about crisis management
2. ....................
3. ....................
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
128
Share your ideas with your friends in your group. Collect more viewsfrom them, and enrich your understanding of the poem.
Based on your analysis, write a critical appreciation of the poem,'The Wreck of the Titanic.'
Activity IV (Newspaper report)
r We know that newspaper reports are non-fictional and that theygive us factual information about an incident.
Given below are the features of a good newspaper report.
m Headline : Short and attention grabbing.
m Byline : Usually written below the headline. It may carry the
writer’s name.
m Paragraphs : Follow the inverted pyramid principle. The most
important details come in the initial paragraphs.
m Quotes : It will be interesting and useful to quote the words of
people involved in the incident.
m Facts and opinions: Try to add all the facts possible using the five
W's (who, what, why, where, when).
m Third Person : The report is written in the third person, as the
reporter is retelling the incident without being involved in it.
r Now, think of the tragic end of the Titanic. Work in groups and fill
up the table given below, based on your knowledge of the inci-
dent. You may also use the internet to collect more details about
the Titanic, her final voyage, the passengers on board, the colli-
sion with the iceberg, and the heroic acts of her crew.
Features Details
Headline
Byline
Paragraphs
(Number and broadoutline of each paragraph)
• Who
• What
• Why
• Where
• When
Quotations (Narrationand opinions of the survivors)
Unit 4 BRAVING THE HAZARDS
129
m Use the clues in the table and prepare a newspaper report about
the wreck of the Titanic.
Activity V (Pronunciation)
r Find out how the following words are pronounced. You may use a
standard English dictionary.
m sank -.........................
m band -.........................
m grand -........................
Discuss
m Which is the vowel sound used in these words?
m How do you pronounce this sound?
m Do you have this vowel sound in your mother-tongue?
m Find out more words from the poem with this vowel sound.
Students demonstrate their ability to
a. respond promptly at the time of a disaster.
b. assume leadership in disaster management activities.
c. work individually and as the member of a team, at the time of
disaster and crisis.
d. imbibe the importance and value of sacrifice.
Thematic outcomes
Students demonstrate their ability to
a. make notes to store information.
b. use adverbs of frequency in appropriate contexts.
c. use their knowledge of etymology to understand the meaning
of words.
d. use past tense and passive voice for reporting events.
Linguistic outcomes
The major learning outcomes of this unit are listed below.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
130
5Unit
This holistic concept of wellness is the basic premise of the unit,
‘Harmony of Life’. It contains a short story, a poem and an essay.
The short story ‘Gooseberries’ by Anton Chekhov reflects on
the belief in pursuing one's dream and doing whatever it takes
to achieve that. The poem ‘To Sleep’ by William Wordsworth
underlines the necessity of sound sleep. The essay ‘Going out
for a walk’ by Max Beerbohm challenges the notion that walking
is a productive mental exercise -- especially if one is accompanied
by a talkative companion.
About the Unit
Good health is a state of complete physical, social and mentalwell-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.Health is a resource for everyday life, not the object of living,
and is a positive concept emphasizing social and personalresources as well as physical capabilities.
- WHO
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
131
r Look at the logo given below.
Can you identify the words that appear with the entry 'wellness'in the following logo?
What is your idea of wellness?
Does it pertain to the physical realm alone?
Let’s begin:
m What are the activities conducted by your school Health Club forpromoting wellness?
m Now, prepare a logo for your school Health Club.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
132
GOOSEBERRIES
From early morning
the sky had been
overcast with clouds;
the day was still, cool,
and wearisome, as
usual on
grey dull
days when
the clouds hang low
over the fields and it
looks like rain, which
never comes. Ivan
Ivanich, the veterinary surgeon, and Bourkin, the
schoolmaster, were tired of walking and the
fields seemed endless to them. Far ahead they
could just see the windmills of the village of
Mirousky. In the calm weather, when all Nature seemed
gentle and melancholic, Ivan Ivanich and Bourkin were
filled with love for the fields and thought how grand and
beautiful the country was.
‘Last time, when we stopped in Prokofyi's shed,’ said
Bourkin, ‘you were going to tell me a story.’
‘Yes. I wanted to tell you about my brother.’
Ivan Ivanich took a deep breath and lighted
his pipe before beginning his story, but just
then the rain began to fall. And in about five
Anton Chekhov
• What purpose does the
first sentence serve?
• Can you guess what story
Ivan was about to tell
Bourkin?
• How do you feel when it
rains?
Chekhov's ‘Gooseberries’ is a story of two brothers who pursue
happiness in their own ways. The story provides ample opportunities,
to examine critically the ways they have chosen. The extent to which
they attain their goals is also worth considering.
I. Read and reflect:
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
133
minutes, it came pelting down and showed no signs of
stopping.
‘We ought to take shelter,’ said Bourkin. ‘Let us go to
Aliokhin’s. It is close by.’
‘Very well.’
They took a short cut over a stubble-field until they came
to the road. Soon they came to a wide road with a mill
and a white bathing-shed. It was Sophino, where Aliokhin
lived.
The mill was working, drowning the sound of the rain. It
was wet, muddy, and unpleasant, and Ivan Ivanich and
Bourkin felt wet and uncomfortable through and through;
their feet were tired with walking in the mud.
In one of the barns a winnowing-machine was working,
sending out clouds of dust. On the threshold stood Aliokhin
himself, a man of about forty, tall and stout,
with long hair, more like a professor or a
painter than a farmer. He was wearing a grimy
white shirt and rope belt, and pants instead of trousers;
and his boots were covered with mud and straw. His nose
and eyes were black with dust. He recognised Ivan Ivanich
and was apparently very pleased.
‘Please, gentlemen,’ he said, ‘go to the house. I'll be with
you in a minute.’
The house was large and two-storied. Aliokhin lived down-
stairs in two vaulted rooms with little windows. Ivan
Ivanich and Bourkin were received by a chambermaid.
‘You cannot imagine how glad I am to see you, gentlemen,’
said Aliokhin, coming after them into the hall. ‘I never
expected you. Pelagueya,’ he said to the maid, ‘give my
friends a change of clothes. And I will change, too. But I
must have a bath. I haven't had one since the spring.
Wouldn't you like to come to the bathing-shed? And
meanwhile our things will be got ready.’
Aliokhin led his guests to the bathing-shed.
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘it is a long time since I had a
bath. My bathing-shed is all right, as you see.
My father and I put it up, but somehow I have
no time to bathe.’He sat down on the step and
• Describe Aliokhin’s
appearance.
• Why couldn’t Aliokhin
bathe regularly despite
having a good bathing
shed?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
134
lathered his long hair and neck, and the water round him
became brown.
Ivan Ivanich came out of the shed, plunged into the water
with a splash, and swam about in the rain, flapping his
arms, and sending waves back; he swam out to the middle
of the pool and dived, trying to reach the bottom.
‘Ah! how delicious!’ he shouted in his glee. ‘How
delicious!’ Bourkin and Aliokhin were already dressed and
ready to go, but he kept on swimming and diving.
‘Delicious,’ he said. ‘Too delicious!’
‘You've had enough,’ shouted Bourkin.
They went to the house. And only when the lamp was lit
in the large drawing-room up-stairs, and Bourkin and Ivan
Ivanich, dressed in silk dressing-gowns and
warm slippers, lounged in chairs, and Aliokhin
himself, washed and brushed, in a new frock
coat, paced up and down, did Ivan Ivanich begin his story.
‘We are two brothers,’ he began, ‘I, Ivan Ivanich, and
Nicholai Ivanich, two years younger. I went in for study
and became a veterinary surgeon, while Nicholai was at
the Exchequer Court when he was nineteen. Our father,
Tchimsha-Himalaysky, was a cantonist*, but he died with
an officer's rank and left us his title of nobility and a
small estate. After his death, the estate went to pay his
debts. However, we spent our childhood there in the
country. We were just like peasants’ children,
spent days and nights in the fields and the
woods, minded the horses, barked the lime-
trees, fished, and so on...
‘And you know, once a man has fished, or watched the
thrushes hovering in flocks over the village in the bright,
cool, autumn days, he can never really be a townsman,
and to the day of his death he will be drawn to the country.
My brother pined away in the Exchequer. Years passed
and he sat in the same place, wrote out the same
documents, and thought of one thing, how to get back to
the country, and to buy a small farm somewhere by the
bank of a river or a lake.
‘He was a good fellow and I loved him, but I never
• When did Ivan start
narrating his story?
• How did the brothers
spend their childhood
after their father's death?
* Cantonist was the 19th Century common name for the service obliged military. The term was firstcoined in 1713 by the Polish Colonel R. Pastetzky .
• How did Ivan respond to
the rain?
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
135
• Mention some of the
advantages of country life.
sympathised with the desire to shut oneself
up on one's own farm. It is a common saying
that a man needs only six feet of land. But
surely a corpse wants that, not a man. To leave town, and
the struggle and the swim of life, and go and
hide yourself in a farmhouse is not life --- it is
egoism, laziness.
‘My brother Nicholai, sitting in his office, would
dream of eating out in the open air, and of
sleeping in the sun, and of sitting for hours
together on a seat by the gate and gazing at the fields and
the forest. Books on agriculture and the hints in almanacs
were his joy, his favourite spiritual food; and
he liked reading newspapers, but only the
advertisements of land to be sold, with a
farmhouse, river, garden, mill, and mill-pond.
And he would dream of garden-walls, flowers, fruits, nests,
carp in the pond, don't you know, and all the rest of it.
These fantasies of his used to vary according to the
advertisements he found, but somehow there
was always a gooseberry-bush in every one.
Not a house, not a romantic spot could he
imagine without its gooseberry-bush.
‘Country life has its advantages,’ he used to
say. ‘You sit on the veranda drinking tea and
your ducklings swim on the pond, and everything smells
good. . . and there are gooseberries.’
‘He used to live meagerly and never had
enough to eat and drink, dressed God knows
how, exactly like a beggar, and always saved
and put his money into the bank. He was
terribly stingy. It used to hurt me to see him, and I used
to give him money to go away for a holiday, but
he would put that away, too. Once a man gets
a fixed idea, there's nothing to be done.
‘Years passed; he completed his fortieth year and was
still reading advertisements in the papers and saving up
his money. Then I heard he was married. Still with the
same idea of buying a farmhouse with a gooseberry-bush,
he married an elderly, ugly widow, not out of any feeling
• ‘To leave town, and the
struggle and the swim of
life, and go and hide
yourself in a farmhouse is
not life --- it is egoism,
laziness.’ - Do you agree?
Why?
• What was the difference in
the attitudes of Ivan and
Nicholai towards life?
• ‘F ixed goals help us
achieve success in life.’
What is your opinion?
• Comment on Ivan’s view on
the saying that a man
needs only six feet of land.
• What was Nicholai’s
dream?
• What were the sacrifices
that Nicholai made to
achieve his goal?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
136
• Nicholai had to buy an
estate quite different from
what he had dreamt of. But
he didn't grieve much. How
would you behave in such
a situation?
for her, but because she had money. With her he still
lived stingily, kept her half-starved, and put the money
into the bank in his own name. Money, like vodka, can
play queer tricks with a man.’
‘After the death of his wife,’ Ivan Ivanich continued, after
a long pause, ‘my brother began to look out for an estate.
Through an agent, my brother Nicholai raised
a mortgage and bought three hundred acres
with a farmhouse, a cottage, and a park, but
there was no orchard, no gooseberry-bush, no
duck-pond; there was a river but the water in
it was coffee-coloured because the estate lay
between a brick-yard and a gelatine factory. But my brother
Nicholai was not worried about that; he ordered twenty
gooseberry-bushes and settled down to a country life.
‘Last year, I paid him a visit. I thought I'd go and see how
things were with him. In his letters, my brother called
his estate Tchimbarshov Corner, or Himalayskoe. I arrived
at Himalayskoe in the afternoon. It was hot. There were
ditches, fences, hedges, rows of young fir-trees, trees
everywhere, and there was no telling how to cross the
yard or where to put your horse. I went to the house and
was met by a red-haired dog, as fat as a pig. He tried to
bark but felt too lazy. Out of the kitchen came the cook,
barefooted, and also as fat as
a pig, and said that the
master was having his
afternoon rest. I went in to
my brother and found him
sitting on his bed with his
knees covered with a blanket;
he looked old, stout, flabby;
his cheeks, nose, and lips
were pendulous. I half
expected him to grunt like a
pig.
‘We embraced and shed a tear
of joy and also of sadness to
think that we had once been young, but were now both
going grey and nearing death. He dressed and took me to
see his estate.
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
137
‘Well? How are you getting on?’ I asked.
‘All right, thank God. I am doing very well.’
‘He was no longer the poor, tired official, but a real
landowner and a person of consequence. And,
like a good landowner, he looked after his soul
and did good works pompously, never simply.
What good works? He cured the peasants of
all kinds of diseases with soda and castor-oil, and on his
birthday he would have a thanksgiving service held in the
middle of the village, and would treat the peasants to half
a bucket of vodka, which he thought the right thing to do.
Ah! These horrible buckets of vodka.
‘But my point does not concern him so much as myself. I
want to tell you what a change took place in me in those
few hours while I was in his house. In the evening, while
we were having tea, the cook laid a plateful of gooseberries
on the table. They had not been bought, but were his own
gooseberries, plucked for the first time since the bushes
were planted. Nicholai Ivanich laughed with joy and for a
minute or two he looked in silence at the gooseberries
with tears in his eyes. He could not speak for excitement,
then put one into his mouth, glanced at me in triumph,
like a child at last being given its favourite toy, and said:
‘'How good they are!'
‘He went on eating greedily, and saying all the while:
‘'How good they are! Do try one!'
‘It was hard and sour, but I saw a happy man, one whose
dearest dream had come true, who had attained his goal
in life, who had got what he wanted, and was
pleased with his destiny and with himself. In
my idea of human life there is always some
alloy of sadness, but now at the sight of a
happy man I was filled with something like despair. And
at night it grew on me. A bed was made up for me in the
room near my brother's and I could hear him, unable to
sleep, going again and again to the plate of gooseberries. I
thought: 'After all, what a lot of contented,
happy people there must be! What an
overwhelming power that means! . . . . And
• Was Nicholai happy with
his life? How do you know
that?
• What were the ‘good works’
of Nicholai? How did he
care for his peasants?
• The gooseberries were
unripe and sour, but
Nicholai found them
delicious. Why?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
138
such a state of things is obviously what we want; apparently
a happy man only feels so because the unhappy bear their
burden in silence, but for which happiness
would be impossible.
‘That night I was able to understand how I,
too, had been content and happy,’ Ivan Ivanich went on,
getting up. ‘Freedom is a boon, I used to say, as essential
as the air we breathe, but we must wait. Yes -
- I used to say so, but now I ask: 'Why do we
wait?’
Ivan Ivanich glanced angrily at Bourkin. ‘Why do we wait,
I ask you? What considerations keep us fast? I am told
that we cannot have everything at once, and that every
idea is realised in time. But who says so? Where is the
proof that it is so? Tell me, I say, why should we wait?
‘I left my brother early the next morning, and from that
time on I found it impossible to live in town. The peace
and quiet of it oppress me. I dare not look in at the
windows, for nothing is more dreadful to see than the
sight of a happy family, sitting round a table,
having tea. I am an old man now and am no
good for the struggle. I commenced late. I can
only grieve within my soul, and fret and sulk. At night my
head buzzes with the rush of my thoughts and I cannot
sleep... Ah! If I were young!’
Ivan Ivanich walked excitedly up and down the room and
repeated:
‘If I were young.’
He suddenly walked up to Aliokhin and shook him first by
one hand and then by the other.
‘Pavel Koustantinich,’ he said in a voice of entreaty, ‘don't
be satisfied, don't let yourself be lulled to sleep! While
you are young, strong, wealthy, do not cease to do good!
Happiness does not exist, nor should it, and if there is
any meaning or purpose in life, they are not in our peddling
little happiness, but in something reasonable and grand.
Do good!’
Then they all three sat in different corners of the drawing-
room and were silent. Ivan Ivanich's story had satisfied
• What, according to Ivan, was
the relevance of freedom?
• Why did Ivan find it
difficult to live in town
after visiting his brother?
• What distinction did Ivan
make between the happy
and the unhappy?
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
139
neither Bourkin nor Aliokhin. It was tedious to hear the
story of a miserable official who ate gooseberries. . . .
Somehow they had a longing to hear and to speak of
charming people, and of women. And the mere fact of
sitting in the drawing-room was much better than any
story.
Aliokhin wanted very much to go to bed; he had to get up
for his work very early, about two in the morning, and
now his eyes were closing. . . .
‘However, it's time to go to bed,‘said Bourkin, getting up. ‘I
will wish you good night.’
Aliokhin said good night and went down-stairs, and left
his guests. Each had a large room with an old wooden bed
and carved ornaments. Ivan Ivanich undressed in silence
and lay down.
‘God forgive me, a wicked sinner,‘he murmured,
as he drew the clothes over his head.
The rain beat against the windows all night
long.
(Abridged)
• How can happiness be
achieved in life?
• What change in attitude
came over Ivan at the end?
Glossary:
entreaty : a serious request for
something
exchequer court : in English law. a very
ancient court of record,
which was originally the
king's treasury
gelatine (n) : a clear substance that is
made by boiling animal
bones or tissues and used in
making jelly.
mortgage (n) : a legal agreement in which
a person borrows money to
buy property and pays back
the money over a period of
years
pendulous (adj) : hanging down and swinging
freely
pompously (adj) : exhibiting self-importance
vodka (n) : a strong, clear alcoholic drink that
is originally from Russia
About the Author
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov(1860- 1904)
A Russian physician,dramatist and author,
Chekhov is one of the greatest shortstory writers. His career as a dramatistproduced four classics and his bestshort stories are held in high esteemby writers and critics alike.‘Gooseberries’ is the middle story in atrilogy of Chekhov's tales; the first titled‘The Man in a Shell’ and the last titled‘About Love’. All are united in theme;the isolation and escape from life. Thestory is one of Chekhov's finest worksand has much irony and humour, andis poetic in mood.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
140
Activity I (Read and respond)
m What lesson does Ivan seek to learn from his brother’slife?
m Compare Aliokhin’s first appearance in the story with that ofNicholai.
m The story begins and ends in rain. What does the imagery conveyto you?
m Why do you think the story is titled ‘Gooseberries?’
m Identify the climax of the story.
r Rain has an additional symbolic relevance in this story. Can youidentify other symbols?
Symbolism
In literature, a symbol is an object or reference used to providemeaning beyond what is essentially being described. An authormay repetitively use the same object to communicate a deepermeaning or might use distinctions of the same object to producean overarching mood or feeling.
q Analyze Ivan’s argument against happiness (‘There is nothingsadder than the sight of a happy man’).
q How does Chekhov develop his theme in the story? What are thetechniques used? (story within the story, realism, irony, symbol-ism etc.)
Activity II (Review)
Based on the above points, attempt a review of Chekhov’s ‘Gooseber-ries’ bearing in mind the following hints:
• Read and recall what you have read, and formulate your ownobservations.
• Theme/content
• Writing style/presentation
• Characters
• Depiction of landscape
• Symbolic relevance
Activity III (Write-up)
• According to Chekhov, ‘money like vodka plays queer tricks withman’. How far is this statement relevant in the present-day world?Prepare a write-up on the topic.
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
141
Activity IV (Debate)
r Read the following lines from the story.
• ‘Freedom is a boon as essential as the air we breathe.’ How far isthis statement true in the case of an individual?
Is freedom essential for an individual? Debate the topic.
Tips
• Present it effectively.
• Maintain eye contact.
• Find a steady spot to place your feet.
• Start by taking a deep breath.
• Speak slowly, carefully and convincingly.
• Don't be discouraged by opposing arguments.
• Be relaxed.
• Make use of non-verbal communication (gestures and bodylanguage).
• Be polite.
Activity V (Seminar)
r In the story, ‘gooseberries’ represent whatever is indigenous, what-
ever should be preserved to retain the culture of the countryside.
Do you think that it is our responsibility to preserve our indig-
enous culture? Conduct a seminar on this topic.
• Present your paper in the class.
• Prepare a report of the presentation.
You may take note of the following guidelines.
• Introduction
• Objective
• Theoretical background - what others say on the topic
• Research - connect theoretical background
• Conclusion - your inferences and findings - reflect on what youhave been able to prove.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
142
Examples from the text
What grounds have we for waiting?
What reason are we to wait for?
When did Nicholai start uttering
views of his own?
Where is the proof that its right?
Which of the two brothers was
younger, Ivan or Nicholai?
Who is it that narrates Nicholai's
story?
Whom did Ivan and Bourkin meet
at the barn?
Whose gooseberry bushes are
these?
Why wait, I ask you?
Why don't you come to the bathing
shed?
How did you get here?
How are you getting on here?
Function
asking for repetition or confirmation
asking for a reason, asking why
asking about time
......................................................
......................................................
asking what or which person or people
(subject)
asking what or which person or people
(object)
asking about ownership
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
......................................................
Question
word
What
What for
When
Where
Which
Who
Whom
Whose
Why
Why
How
How
Points to note
While presenting your paper
• speak slowly, with adequate pauses, loudly and clearly.
• use examples from everyday life.
• use slides and handouts, where necessary.
• adhere to the time limit.
• keep eye contact and use gestures.
• give straight answers to the questions asked.
• be confident.
Activity VI (‘Wh’ Interrogatives)
r We use ‘wh’ - interrogatives to frame questions.
Given below is a set of questions taken from the text. The function ofthe wh - interrogatives is also given against each question.
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
143
See examples below
How far is Sophino from here?
How long will it take to reachSophino, where Aliokhin lives?
How many gooseberry bushesdid Nicholai order?
How much land does a man need?
How old was Nicholai when hedied?
How come (informal) he can'tstand their happiness?
Asking about extent or
degree
distance
length (time or space)
quantity (countable)
quantity (uncountable)
age
asking for a reason, asking why
how+adj/adv
How far
How long
How many
How much
How old
How come
Reported Questions
When we report what people say, we usually change the tense of theverbs to indicate that we are reporting. There are also other importantdifferences between direct questions and reported questions.
Example:
Questions - Why don’t you go to the bathing-shed?
Reported questions - He asked why he didn’t go to the bathing-shed.(or) He asked me why I didn’t come ...
When there is a question word, we repeat that question word in the reportedquestion. The word order is like that of an affirmative sentence.
Direct questions Reported questions
Who narratesNicholai’s story?
Where is the proof that it is right?
They asked who narrated Nicholai’sstory.
He asked where the proof was that it wasright.
Reported questions do not have a question mark at the end.
Frame questions to get the underlined words as answer.
Example:
He bought twenty gooseberry bushes. - What did he buy? / How manygooseberry bushes did he buy?
1. They went to Aliokhin's barn.
2. He was a gentle, good-natured fellow.
3. We have spent our childhood running wild in the country.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
144
4. Ivan saw a happy man.
5. I went away from my brother's house early in the morning.
6. That night, Ivan realized that he too was happy and contented.
Activity VII (Exclamations)
r We use exclamations to express strong emotions in a special way.It is important to know how to express exclamations because theyare very common in both speech and writing.
Study the following sentences.
m That is a shocking report.
m What a shocking report! OR How shocking!
Here, an assertive sentence is converted into an exclamatorysentence.
Note the use of the punctuation mark (!) at the end of the exclamatorysentence.
Exclamatory sentences are often constructed with how and what orwith so and such.
You may notice the structural changes in each sentence.
m How delicious it is!
m How you have grown!
m What a lovely song!
m What a surprise!
m What tasty gooseberries!
m What fools!
m What beautiful weather!
m What a beautiful smile you have!
m You are so sweet!
m He is such a nice boy!
m They are such kind people!
m They talk such rubbish!
Let’s practise
Change the following assertive sentences into exclamatory sentences.
1. It was a great beautiful land.
2. The water looked cold and contaminated.
3. That was a very interesting dream.
4. Nicholai is very generous.
5. It would be nice if I were young once again.
6. He is an incredibly positive man.
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
145
TO SLEEP
William Wordsworth
A flock of sheep that leisurely pass byOne after one; the sound of rain, and beesMurmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky;
I've thought of all by turns, and still I lieSleepless; and soon the small birds' melodiesMust hear, first utter'd from my orchard trees,And the first cuckoo's melancholy cry. 8
Even thus last night, and two nights more I lay,And could not win thee, Sleep! by any stealth:So do not let me wear to-night away:
Without Thee what is all the morning's wealth?Come, blesséd barrier between day and day,
Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health! 14
In Chekhov's ‘Gooseberries’, after visiting his brother Nicholai,
Ivan Ivanich’s head is hot with the rush of ideas, and he cannot
sleep. Have you ever lain awake, sleepless at night? Describe your
experience. Now let's see what Wordsworth has to say about sleep.
II. Read and enjoy:
About the Author
William Wordsworth(1770 - 1850)
A major EnglishRomantic poet,Wordsworth possessed a
deep love for nature, a theme reflectedin many of his poems. He considerednature to be his friend, philosopherand guide. He became the Poet -Laureate in 1843, and remained so, untilhis death in 1850.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
146
Activity I (Read and respond)
m ‘I've thought of all by turns‘ - What are the things that the poetthinks of?
m Why couldn't the poet sleep for three nights?
m Do you think that sleep embraced the poet in the end? Why?
m How many of you can identify with Wordsworth's experience oflying awake until the ‘birds twitter their dawn chorus?’
m How do you think the poet feels at the start of the poem?
m Pick out the images from the poem.
m Which lines or images do you think are the most effective inconveying the necessity of sound sleep?
m The poem ends in a note of wistful hope and prayer. Do you agree?Why?
m The length of the poem and the poetic form.
A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines with a strictpattern of rhyme and rhythm. There are differentforms of the sonnet but they share the followingthought structure.
m a key idea
m development
m conclusion, often with a twist
m The poet uses several images in the poem, like the sound of rain
and the sight of fields.
An image is a picture created with the poet's choice ofwords that the reader can imagine or recreate. Imagescan make the reader see, feel, think, etc.
m Identify the images used by the poet in ‘ To Sleep’.
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Poetic devices
Alliteration Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of
words placed near each other, usually on the
same or adjacent lines.
e.g. silence surged softly
The furrow followed free;
Assonance Repeated vowel sounds in words placed near each
other, usually on the same or adjacent lines.e.g. A host, of golden daffodils
Beside the lake, beneath the trees
Consonance Repeated consonant sounds at the ending ofwords placed near each other, usually on the
same or adjacent lines.
e.g. If she love me, this believe,I will die ere she shall grieve;
Onomatopoeia Words that sound like their meanings.
e.g. The sack fell into the river with a splash.
The books fell on the table with a loud thump.
Hyperbole An outrageous exaggeration used for effect.
e.g. My grandmother is as old as the hills.
Metaphor A direct comparison between two unlike things,stating that one is the other, or does the action
of the other.
e.g. Her voice is music to his ears.
Simile A direct comparison of two unlike things using‘like’ or ‘as.’
e.g. O my Love's like a red, red rose!
Activity II (Critical Appreciation)
Based on the above discussions, prepare a critical appreciation ofthe poem bearing in mind the following tips.
• Read the poem and note down more details.
• Use the present tense to describe and analyze the events andcharacters of the poem.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
148
Wordsworth’s ‘To Sleep’ tells us how important it is to have a soundsleep in order to remain mentally and physically fit.
• In this world where everything is ‘instant’ or instantly done, isn'tit important to avoid unhealthy habits? Discuss.
Walking like any other exercise, undoubtedly leads to physical
wellness. There may be difference of opinion. The argument that
each and every moment has to be filled with activity has gained
currency these days. In the essay 'Going out for a Walk', Max
Beerbohm looks at walking from a different perspective.
GOING OUT FOR A WALK
Max Beerbohm
It is a fact that not once in all my life have I gone out for a
walk. I have been taken out for walks; but that is another
matter. Even while I trotted prattling by my nurse's side,
I regretted the good old days when I had, and wasn't, a
perambulator. When I grew up, it seemed to me that the
one advantage of living in London was that
nobody ever wanted me to come out for a walk.
London's very drawbacks --- its endless noise
and hustle, its smoky air, the squalor ambushed
everywhere in it--- assured this one immunity. Whenever I
was with friends in the country, I knew that at any
moment, unless rain were actually falling, some man
• What does the author
consider as the drawbacks
of London?
• Use direct quotations from the poem.
• When you mention a particular poetic device or a situation fromthe poem, substantiate your words with the quote that refers toit or the device you are analyzing.
• Identify each poetic device properly.
• Distinguish between metaphor (a poetic comparison) and me-tonymy (using a symbol to stand for what it represents), a hyper-bole (an exaggeration) and a synecdoche (when a part is usedinstead of the whole).
III. Read and reflect:
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
149
might suddenly say ‘Come out for a walk!’ in that sharp
imperative tone which he would not dream of using it.
People seem to think there is something inherently noble
and virtuous in the desire to go for a walk. Any one thus
desirous feels that he has a right to impose his will on
whomever he sees comfortably settled in an arm-chair,
reading. It is easy to say simply ‘No’ to an old friend. In
the case of a mere acquaintance, one wants
some excuse. ‘I wish I could, but’--- nothing
ever occurs to me except ‘I have some letters
to write.’ This formula is unsatisfactory in three ways.
(1) It isn't believed. (2) It compels you to rise from your
chair, go to the writing-table, and sit improvising a letter
to somebody until the walk monger (just not
daring to call you liar and hypocrite) shall have
lumbered out of the room. (3) It won't operate
on Sunday mornings. ‘ There's no post out till this evening’
clinches the matter; and you may as well go quietly.
Walking for walking's sake may be as highly laudable and
exemplary a thing as it is held to be by those who practise
it. My objection to it is that it stops the brain. Many a man
has professed to me that his brain never works so well as
when he is swinging along the high road or over hill and
dale. This boast is not confirmed by my memory of anybody
who, on a Sunday morning, has forced me to partake of
his adventure. Experience teaches me that
whatever a fellow-guest may have of the power
to instruct or to amuse when he is sitting on a
chair, or standing on a hearth-rug, quickly
leaves him when he takes one out for a walk. The ideas
that came so thick and fast to him in any room, where
are they now? Where is the encyclopaedic knowledge which
he bore so lightly? Where the kindling fancy that played
like summer lightning over any topic that was started?
The man's face that was so mobile is set now; gone is the
light from his fine eyes. He says that A. (our host) is a
thoroughly good fellow. Fifty yards further on, he adds
that A. is one of the best fellows he has ever met. We
tramp another furlong or so, and he says that Mrs. A. is a
charming woman. Presently he adds that she is one of
• What is the author ’s
excuse to avoid walking?
• Why is the author’s excuse
ineffective?
• What makes the author say
that walking for walking's
sake stops one's brain?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
150
• What, according to the
author, is the thought
process taking place in the
brain during a walk?
• ‘Trespassers will be
prosecuted‘ - Write down
two more such wall notices.
the most charming women he has ever known. We pass an
inn. He reads rapidly aloud to me: ‘ The King's Arms.
Licensed to sell Ales and Spirits.’ I foresee that during the
rest of the walk he will read aloud any inscription that
occurs. We pass a milestone. He points at it with his stick,
and says ‘Uxminster. 11 Miles.’ We turn a
sharp corner at the foot of a hill. He points
at the wall, and says ‘Drive Slowly.’ I see far
ahead, on the other side of the hedge
bordering the high road, a small notice-board. He sees it
too. He keeps his eye on it. And in due course ‘ Trespassers,’
he says, ‘Will Be Prosecuted.’ Poor man!--- mentally a wreck.
Luncheon at the A.S,
however, salves him and
floats him in full sail.
Behold him once more
the life and soul of the
party! Surely he will
never, after the bitter
lesson of this morning,
go out for another walk.
An hour later, I see him
striding forth, with a
new companion. I watch
him out of sight. I know what he is saying. He is saying
that I am rather a dull man to go for a walk with. He will
presently add that I am one of the dullest men he ever
went for a walk with. Then he will devote himself to reading
out the inscriptions.
How comes it, this immediate deterioration in those who
go walking for walking's sake? Just what happens?
I take it that not by his reasoning faculties is a man urged
to this enterprise. He is urged, evidently, by
something in him that transcends reason; by
his soul, I presume. Yes, it must be the soul
that raps out the ‘Quick march!’ to the body.---
‘Halt! Stand at ease! ‘Interposes the brain, and
‘To what destination, ‘It suavely asks the soul, ‘and on what
errand, are you sending the body? ‘On no errand
whatsoever’, The soul makes answer, ‘and to no destination
at all.’ It is just like you to be always on the look-out for
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
151
• What is the author's
opinion of having a vehicle
for every destination?
• What holds the author
back from going out for a
walk?
some subtle ulterior motive. The body is going out because
the mere fact of its doing so is a sure indication of
nobility, probity, and rugged grandeur of character.’ ---
‘Very well, Vagula, have your own wayula*! But I,’ says
the brain, ‘flatly refuse to be mixed up in this tomfoolery.
I shall go to sleep till it is over.’ The brain then wraps
itself up in its own convolutions, and falls into a
dreamless slumber from which nothing can rouse it till
the body has been safely deposited indoors again.
Even if you go to some definite place, for some definite
purpose, the brain would rather you took a vehicle; but
it does not make a point of this; it will serve
you well enough unless you are going out for a
walk. It won't, while your legs are vying with
each other, do any deep thinking for you, nor
even any close thinking; but it will do any number of
small odd jobs for you willingly --- provided that your
legs, also, are making themselves useful, not merely
bandying you about to gratify the pride of the soul. Such
as it is, this essay was composed in the course of a
walk, this morning. I am not one of those extremists
who must have a vehicle to every destination. I never go
out of my way, as it were, to avoid exercise. I take it as
it comes, and take it in good part. Those valetudinarians
who are always chattering about it and
indulging in it to excess are no reason for
despising it. I am inclined to think that in
moderation it is rather good for one, physically.
But, pending a time when no people wish me to go and
see them, and I have no wish to go and see any one, and
there is nothing whatever for me to do off my own
premises, I never will go out for a walk.
(Adapted)
* very well soul, the wanderer have your won way
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
152
Glossary:
acquaintance (n) : someone you know, but
who is not a close friend
ambush (n) : surprise
exemplary (n) : deserving imitation
hustle (v) : hurry
hypocrite (n) : one who puts on a false
appearance
imperative : commanding
kindling fancy : arousing interest easily
laudable (adj) : worthy of praise or
admiration
perambulator (n) : a baby carriage
prattle (v) : make meaningless sounds
profess (v) : make a false claim
squalor (n) : dirty and unpleasant
conditions
suavely (adj) : confidently, elegantly and politely
(though not sincerely)
valetudinarian (n) : a person with a sickly
constitution
walk monger (n) : (humorously) a person who forces
another to go out for a walk
Activity I (Write-up)
m Do you usually go out for a morning walk or an evening stroll?
m Who do you usually go out with (friends, family members,neighbours etc.,?
m What do you enjoy the most while walking?
m How do you feel after a walk?
m Make a distinction between going out for a walk and being takenout for a walk.
Now, prepare a write-up on walking and your preferences.
Activity II (Personal essay)
r A personal essay usually explores a personal experience.It is an anecdote (or more than one) from your life that isconnected to an idea. The intention of a personal essay is to usean experience as a vehicle to explore a larger theme or question.
• The author gives an account of reasons, i.e., a theory to supporthis explanation.
Sir Henry Maximilian MaxBeerbohm (1872 - 1956), theEnglish writer and caricaturist,is remembered for the elegance
and gentle humour of his personalessays. He is best known today for his1911 novel Zuleika Dobson. 1n theessay ‘Going Out for a Walk’ (1918),Beerbohm challenges the notion thatwalking is a productive mental exercise,especially if one is accompanied by atalkative companion.
About the Author
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
153
Activity III (Survey)
r You might have realised the importance of physical fitness. Physi-
cal fitness invariably leads to mental wellness. ‘A sound mind in
a sound body’, so goes the saying. Happiness is the result of a
sound mind in a sound body. Here is a survey questionnaire.
Collect information from your classmates about their likes, dis-likes, wishes and preferences. Make use of the questionnairegiven below.
Answer the questions honestly chossing your response from
'never', 'rarely', 'sometimes', 'most of the time' or 'always'.
1. During the past twelve months, how often have you felt lonely?2. During the past twelve months, how often have you been so wor-
ried about something that you could not sleep at night?3. Can you keep a secret?4. Do you enjoy the company of people?5. Do you allow other people to decide for you?6. While walking, do you usually look at the ground most of the
time?7. Do you offer your seat to any weak or elderly person in the bus?
(Let the learners ponder over the questions to assess themselves.)
Tips
A good essay should have
• Focus • Development
• Unity • Coherence
• •
Now, attempt to write a personal essay on a topic of your choice.(e.g. swimming, jogging, etc.)
Tips
• Select a topic (choose a subject that is interesting or relevantto you).
• Prepare an outline.
• Write the introduction.
• Write the body.
• Write the conclusion.
• Review what you have written (make additions and deletions).
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
154
Answer 'Yes' or 'No' and check your scores.
1. Do you get very upset when you have misplaced something veryimportant, such as keys, train tickets, etc.?
2. Are you afraid of growing old?
3. Would you like to go on a long trip --- say for five to six months?
4. Do you like to give unexpected gifts?
5. Are you ready to give up your present way of life and start anew,if needed?
6. Would you accept a job in another country if the future lookedbrighter there?
7. Do you think you can recover from a financial blow?
8. Do you dislike visiting the sick?
9. Are you superstitious?
10. Do you like to be fashionably dressed?
11. Do you like to sit in small dark rooms?
12. Do you find your mood changing according to the weather?
(TO FIND OUT YOUR SCORE, REFER TO PAGE NO - 156)
Activity IV (Read and practise)
r Read these sentences from Beerbohm's essay.
a) ‘Even if you go to some definite place, for some definite purpose,the brain would rather you took a vehicle’.
b) ‘I wish I could, but…I have some letters to write’.
(i) In the first sentence, would rather is used to express what oneentity prefers (i.e., the brain) another (i.e., the author) to do.
e.g. I would rather you took proper rest.
Tom would rather Jack took a plane.
When we speak about a specific preference, would rather and wouldprefer have the same meaning and are interchangeable.
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155
Would rather can be abbreviatedto ’d rather.Would prefer can be abbreviatedto ’d prefer
Would rather is followed by a bareinfinitive. Would prefer is followedby to + infinitive.
We use the past tense after wouldrather when we speak aboutpeople’s actions even though theaction is in the present or the future.
While making a comparison Wouldrather……..than is used
I’d rather you took a vehicle.I’d prefer you to take avehicle.
I’d rather you took a vehicle.I’d prefer you to take avehicle.
The brain would rather youtook a vehicle than walk.
The brain would rather youtook a vehicle than walk.
r Answer the following questions using would rather:
m What did you have for breakfast today?
m How would you like your coffee, with some cream or milk?
m How are you going to the doctor’s?
m Where do you like to go on vacation?
m Whom do you like to go out with?
(ii) I wish I could
‘I wish I could, but… I have some letters to write’.
We use the past tense modals would and could to talk about wishesin the future.
m I don't like my job. I wish I could get a better job.
m That's a dreadful noise. I wish it would stop.
We use the past tense forms to talk about wishes in the present.
m I wish it wasn't so cold.
m These seats are very uncomfortable. I wish I were travelling byfirst class.
We use the past perfect to talk about wishes which refer to the past.
m I wish I had worked harder when I was at school.
m I wish I hadn't wasted my time too much.
Let’s practise
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156
Answers to the activity ‘Can you find happiness?’ (The scores aregiven in brackets).
(1) YES -6, NO-8 (5) YES-18, NO-5 (9) YES-12, NO-8
(2) YES-2, NO-18 (6) YES-18, NO-6 (10) YES-12, NO-8
(3) YES-12, NO-9 (7) YES-15, NO-7 (11) YES-3, NO-9
(4) YES-14, NO-6 (8) YES-2, NO-12 (12) YES-4, N0-8
Now, add up your score.
136 to 150 points -- You have a wonderful outlook on life. Yourfamily, friends and colleagues will stick by you. You have thecourage to face life as it is.
125 to 135 points -- You are thoughtful and can see both sides oflife. You have the capacity to find happiness.
80 to 120 points -- You are inclined to see things as being darkerthan they really are. Dont be afraid of the future. It will holdmuch joy for you.
Below 80 points -- You must get into the habit of saying onlypleasant and cheerful things. Fill your mind with happy things.You will find your list of happiness growing and each day willturn out to be happier for you.
[adapted from-Psychology-Evaluate Your Self]
Activity V (Make a start)
Now, why don't you draw up a plan of action to ensure personalresponsibility for one or more of your daily health habits (e.g. tidying
the bedroom, taking a bath, eating healthy and balanced meals,
taking rest, doing homework, using independent learning strategies,helping the family, doing physical activity, etc.). For example, you
can
m identify the habit for which you want to take up responsibility.
m indicate the means to be used.
m establish the steps for fulfilling this responsibility.
m take action and revise your plans as required.
Discuss your plans with your friends and exchange strategies for a
more effective implementation.
Activity VI (Project)
You may conduct a survey among your friends.
The teacher can help you in selecting survey topics relating to
m dietary habits
m rest (e.g., nap, adequate sleep)
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
157
m healthy eating (with food from the four food groups)
m exercise, including good posture (e.g., while reading, at the com-
puter, during a physical activity)
m use of drugs (energy boosters, overdose of medicines, healthdrinks, etc.)
m hygiene (cleanliness, shower/bath, change of clothes)
m mental health
m physical activity
m delinquent behaviour
Tips
Divide yourselves into six or seven groups.
Prepare a few questionnaires based on the above topics.
Allow each group to choose a topic.
Let them make a few case studies based on their respectivetopics.
Conduct the survey and prepare a survey report.
Present the survey report in the class.
Make a list of new words and expressions used in the report.
Attempt a power point presentation of the project.
Decide on
• what you want to learn.
• whom you will interview.
• how you will conduct the interview.
• what you will ask.
• how to conduct the test with your friends.
• how to conduct the interviews and enter the data.
• how to analyse the data and produce the reports.
In your questionnaire:
m Decide what you would like to learn using your questionnaire.
m Start writing out questions that can help you reach your goals.
m Design your questionnaire based on the method of delivery.
m Order the questions so that if a person says ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to a
certain question, they can bypass any question that does notfurther apply to them.
m Test your questionnaire on your friends or family, before you
begin surveying other people.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
158
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD SURVEY REPORT
A survey report is a formal piece of writing based on research.
Structure:
• Introduction
- Aim of the report and methodology: when, what and how
• Main Body
- All the information collected and analyzed is presented
here clearly.
• Conclusion
- Summing up and recommendations
Hints and phrases:
• Use present tense, reported speech and an impersonal style.Use a variety of reporting verbs such as claim, state, report,agree, complain, suggest, etc.
• While reporting the results of a survey, the figures gatheredshould be given in the form of percentages and proportions. e.g.,40% of the people were questioned, 88% of those who filled inthe questionnaire, etc., or expressions like: the majority of thosequestioned, a large proportion of, a significant number of, etc.
• To introduce: The purpose/aim of this report….
• This survey was carried out/ conducted by means of…, thequestionnaire consisted of etc.
• To generalize: In general, generally, on the whole, etc.
• To refer to a fact: The fact is that…, In fact, In practice, etc.
• To conclude: In conclusion, To sum up, It is clear that, Thesurvey shows/indicates/demonstrates, etc.
Extended Activities
Activity I (Discussion)
r Discuss the need to have physical education compulsory to thehigher secondary students.
All students have to be involved in sports. It is said that physicaleducation is important because it provides students with
m a healthy and active lifestyle
m leadership qualities
m a positive attitude
m team spirit
m more confidence and self-esteem
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
159
m better learning
m civic virtues like volunteering to help others
Activity II (Write-up)
r Do you think that there should be physical education in schools?
Prepare a write-up saying why or why not.
Activity III (Speech)
r The newspaper headlines below may remind you of some of yourfriends who are addicted to junk food, energy boosters, computers,bike racing, etc. You are worried about how these habits willaffect them mentally, physically and academically. Being theHealth Officer of your school, you decide to make a speech in themorning assembly on the adverse effect of such a lifestyle andthe need to take charge of oneself. Draft the script of the speech.
m Youngsters today don't think that homemade food is 'cool'.
m Stress and a hectic lifestyle lead to ill health and anxiety-related diseases.
m Tech-savvy youngsters suffer from gadget withdrawal whendeprived of gadgets such as mobiles.
m Scientists have established that just one night of sleepdeprivation can lead to weight gain.
m Energy drinks contain alarming rates of caffeine.
m Play vigorously, do not remain indoors for too long, enjoy eatingfruits and vegetables.
m Nuts and buttermilk help to cut flab.
m Keep pets, beat stress.
Activity IV (Role play)
r Last year, I went to pay him a visit. I thought I would go and seewhat it was like’-- Ivan goes on to narrate his meeting with hisbrother. Attempt a role-play of the narration.
m Plan your role play by reading over the options, and identifythe core concepts and issues that you will need to know forthis activity.
m Decide on who will be who.
m Take concrete steps to complete your preparation.
m Take time to set the stage and establish the mood for the role-play scenario.
m Clearly understand the mechanism of the role-play.
m Behaviour etiquette should be explicitly outlined
m During the role-play, you have to gain control over the rolesyou are handling.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
160
m To get the most out of the role-play, it is important to takesome time afterwards to debrief with your teacher.
m The first couple of times you do the role-play, it is helpful todiscuss both the process and the content of the role-play withyour teacher.
Activity V (Essay)
r ‘Satisfaction, self-sufficiency and piety are the characteristics ofa happy life.’ -- Do you agree? Keeping in mind all the texts that
you have read in this unit, prepare an essay on your idea of a
happy life.
Activity VI (Comparative analysis)
r Here is a poem, ‘Ode on Solitude’ by Alexander Pope. Read it
many times, carefully. What is the poet trying to convey through
the poem? Make a comparative analysis of this poem with
Wordsworth’s ‘To Sleep’, that you have read earlier.Happy the man, whose wish and careA few paternal acres bound,Content to breathe his native air in his own ground.Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,Whose flock supply him with attire;Whose trees in summer yield him shade , in winter fire.
Blest, who can unconcern'dly findHours, days, and years, slide soft awayIn health of body, peace of mind, quiet by day,
Sound sleep by night; study and easeTogether mixt, sweet recreation,And innocence, which most does please with meditation.
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;Thus unlamented let me die;Steal from the world, and not a stone
tell where I lie.
‘Ode on Solitude’ is a poem by Alexander Pope, written when he wastwelve years old and widely included in anthologies. Alternately titled‘The Quiet Life’, it was written to celebrate the virtues of a happy andsatisfied life. In this poem, Pope discusses the characteristics of ahappy life like satisfaction, self-sufficiency, and piety. Man was thefittest subject for his poetry and he makes imaginative treatment ofman in relation to individuals, society, and the universe.
Unit- 5: HARMONY OF LIFE
161
m Write about the effect created by both the poems on you.
m Show how they are similar and how they are different.
m The content of the poems --- what they are about.
m The ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about.
m The mood or atmosphere of the poems.
m How they are written --- the words and phrases you findinteresting, the way they are organized, etc.
Thematic outcomes
Linguistic outcomes
Students demonstrate the ability to:
• read and understand that physical and mental health are
complementary.
• realise the holistic concept of wellness.
• realize the importance of preserving indigenous culture.
• understand the need of having a sound mind in a sound body.
• realise the need for holistic health and to lead an orderly life.
Students demonstrate the ability to:
• read and comprehend short stories, poems and essays.
• prepare write-ups and essays.
• express their views on a given topic for debate.
• review a prose passage.
• critically appreciate poems.
• conduct an investigative project.
• prepare questionnaires.
• conduct a survey and prepare survey reports.
• use the structures ‘would rather,’ ‘I wish I could,’ etc. to
produce exclamatory sentences.
• use question words and reporting questions correctly.
• Identify and use various poetic devices.
The major learning outcomes of this unit are listed below.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
162
Science and technology has brought about revolutionary changes
in every walk of life. It has transformed every corner of the world.
It caters to the demands of everyone including the differently
abled. However, this advancement is not without certain hazards
which we will do well to bear in mind.
This unit titled ‘Leaps and Bounds’ begins with an article ‘The
Cyber Space’, by Esther Dyson on the use and abuse of
cyberspace. ‘Is Society Dead?’ by Andrew Sullivan is a
humorous but strong write- up on the I-pod generation which is
in a way disconnected from societal interactions. The short story
titled ‘Conceptual Fruit’ by Thaisa Fank, touchingly presents
the efforts of a loving father to enable his differently-abled
daughter to make sense of the world around her, with the help
of technology.
About the Unit
6Unit
'That's one small step for a man,one giant leap for a mankind.'
- Neil A. Armstrong
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
163
Look at these pictures carefully
m Can you identify the actor in these visuals?
m What do these pictures communicate to you?
m Do you think that technology and its various aspects
must be studied in detail to get a serious understand-
ing of society?
m Write a short paragraph on the role of technology in
modern society and share the ideas with your friend.
Let’s begin
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
164
Something in the modern psyche loves new frontiers. We
hanker after wide-open spaces; we like to explore; we
like to make rules instead of following them. However, is
there a place where you can go and be yourself
without worrying about the neighbours?
Yes, there is such a place: cyberspace.
Formerly, a playground for computer nerds and techies,
cyberspace now embraces every conceivable constituency,
including school children. Can they all get
along amicably in the cyber world? Or will
our fear of kids misusing the cyberspace
provoke a crackdown?
The first order of the business is to grasp what cyberspace
is. It might help to leave behind metaphors of highways
and frontiers and to think instead of real estate. Real
estate, remember, is an intellectual, legal,
artificial environment constructed on top of
land. It recognizes the difference between
parkland and shopping mall, between red-light
zone and school district, between church,
state and drug store.
In the same way, you could think of cyberspace as a giant
and unbounded world of virtual real estate. Some property
is privately owned and rented out; other property is common
land; some places are suitable for children, and others
are best avoided by all but the oddest citizens.
Unfortunately, it's those places that are now capturing
the popular imagination. They make cyberspace sound
like a nasty place. Good citizens jump to a conclusion:
Better regulate it.
Using censorship to counter and silence cyberspace
fundamentally misinterprets the nature of cyberspace.
Cyberspace isn't a frontier where wicked people can grab
The advent of the World Wide Web brought about a revolutionarychange in the dissemination of information. A cultural transformationfrom the printed space to the cyber space took place. It redefined thespatial dimensions of our universe.
I. Read and reflect:
THE CYBERSPACEEsther Dyson
• What is special about the
‘modern psyche'?
• What is cyberspace? How
has it evolved over the
years?
• What type of metaphor is
used by the author to
describe cyberspace?
• Mention some of the
traditional metaphors
used to denote cyberspace.
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
165
unsuspecting children, nor is it a giant
television system that can beam offensive
messages at unwilling viewers. In this kind
of real estate, users have to choose where they
visit, what they see, what they do. It is optional, and it's
much easier to bypass a place on the net than it is to
avoid walking past an unsavoury block of stores on the
way to your home.
Put plainly, cyberspace is a voluntary
destination−in reality many destinations. You
don't just get 'on to the net'; you have to go
some place in particular. That means that people can
choose where to go and what to see. Yes,
community standards should be enforced, but
those standards should be set by cyberspace
communities themselves. What we need isn't
control from outside over these electronic communities;
we need self-rule.
What makes cyberspace so alluring is precisely the way
in which it's different from shopping malls, television,
highways and other terrestrial jurisdiction. But let's define
the territory:
First, there are private email conversations, akin to the
conversations you have over the telephone or voice mail.
These are private and consensual and require no
regulation at all.
Second, there are information and
entertainment services, where people can
download anything from legal texts and lists of 'great
new restaurants' to game software or interesting
presentations. These places are like book stores, malls
and movie houses−places where you go to buy something.
The customer needs to request an item or sign up for a
subscription; some of these services are free; others
charge and may bill their customers directly.
Third, there are 'real communities'−groups of people who
communicate among themselves. In real estate terms,
they are like shops or restaurants or playgrounds. Each
active participant contributes to a general conversation,
generally through posted messages. Other participants
• What are the three major
areas of services available
in cyberspace?
• Why does the author
maintain that censorship
will not work in the case of
cyberspace?
• Why is cyberspace
described as a voluntary
destination? Do you agree
with the author here?
• Who, according to the
author, are the right people
to set the standards?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
166
may simply listen or watch. Some are supervised by a
moderator; others are more like bulletin-boards --- anyone
is free to post anything. Many of these services started
out unmoderated but are now imposing rules
to keep out unwanted advertising, extraneous
discussions or increasingly rude participants.
Without a moderator, the decibel level often gets too high.
What's unique about cyberspace is that it liberates us
from the tyranny of power structures, where everyone
lives by the rule of the majority. In a democracy, minority
groups and minority preferences tend to get squeezed
out, whether they are minorities of race and culture or
minorities of individual taste. Cyberspace allows
communities of any size and kind to flourish; in cyberspace
communities are chosen by the users, not forced on them
by accidents of geography. This freedom gives
the rules in cyberspace a moral authority
that rules in terrestrial environments don't
have. Most people are stuck in the country
of their birth, but if you don't like the rules of a cyberspace
community, you can just sign off. Love it or leave it.
What's likely to happen in cyberspace is the formation of
new communities, free of the constraints that cause
conflict on earth. Instead of a global village, we will have
invented another world of self-contained communities that
cater to their own members' inclinations without
interfering with anyone else's. We will be able to test and
evolve rules governing what needs to be governed ---
intellectual property, content and access control, rules
about privacy and free speech.
In the end, our society needs to grow up. Growing up
means understanding that there are no perfect answers,
no all-purpose solutions. We haven't created a perfect
society on earth and we won't have one in cyberspace
either. But at least we can have individual choice and
individual responsibility.
• What is in store for cyber
communities in future?
• What are the comparisons
made by the author between
cyberspace and terrestrial
communities?
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
167
Activity I (Writing)
r A group of students are asked to prepare a list of Dos and Don’ts
of using the cyberspace. They list the following points after their
discussion.
1 Do not reveal your e-mail address to everyone.
2 Do not waste your precious time visiting unwanted sites.
3 Computers should be kept in open view in a common hall.
4 Children should have a specific time schedule for browsing the
net.
5 Teachers should check the authenticity of the sources used in
students' term papers.
6 Awareness programmes should be conducted on the various
cyber security measures.
7 Late-night browsing should be discouraged.
8 At school, certain checks should be ensured so that children
do not misuse the net.
9 The net addicted should be given counselling in the school
10. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glossary:
frontier : new field for developmental
activity
cyberspace : the online world of
computer networks,
especially the Internet
nerd : a person who is very
interested in technical
subjects, computers, etc.
crackdown : an increased effort to
enforce a law or rule
unbounded : having no limit
beam : a line of light coming from
a source
offensive : very unpleasant
unsavoury : offensive
alluring : having the power to attract
extraneous : not forming a necessary part of
something, not important
About the Author
Esther Dyson is anAmerican technologyanalyst who is a leadingcommentator on digitaltechnology, biotech-nology and space.
Since the late 80s, Dysonbecame increasingly involved in publicdiscussions about the future of theInternet. ‘The Cyberspace’ is adiscussion on the possibilities andchallenges involved in using cyberspace.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
168
r Classify the ideas generated under the following heads. (Write
the corresponding number.)
Parents : ...................................................................
Teachers : ...................................................................
Students : ...................................................................
Counsellor : ...................................................................
r Now, write an article on the use and misuse of cyberspace for
your School Magazine using the hints given above.
Activity II (email)
r Let’s go through the following e-mail carefully.
m What is this email about?
m How is it different from surface mails?
m Analyze the language structure, style, and format of the email.
r Imagine that you organise a seminar on Technology andEnglish Language Teaching in your school. In order to ensurethe presence of the distinguished scholars invited, you drafta detailed email about the seminar.
Draft the email to be sent to the visiting dignitaries.
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
169
I was visiting New York last week and noticed
something I'd never thought I'd say about the
city. Yes, nightlife is pretty much dead and
I'm in no way the first to notice that. But day
life, that insane mishmash of yells, chatter,
hustle and chutzpah was a little different. It
was quieter.
Manhattan's downtown is now a Disney-like
string of malls, riverside parks and pretty upper middle
class villages. But there was something else. And as I
looked across the throngs on the pavements, I began to
see why.
There were little white wires hanging down from their
ears, or tucked into pockets, purses or jackets. The eyes
were a little vacant. Each was in his or her
own musical world, walking to their sound-
track, stars in their own music video, almost
oblivious to the world around them. These are
the i-Pod people.
Even without the white wires you can tell who they are.
They walk down the street in their own MP3 cocoon,
bumping into others, deaf to small social cues, shutting
out anyone not in their bubble.
Every now and again, some start unconsciously emitting
strange tuneless squawks, like badly tuned radio, and
their fingers snap or their arms twitch to some strange
soundless rhythm. When others say ‘Excuse
me', there's no response. 'Hi,' ditto. It's strange
to be among so many people and hear so little.
Except that each one is hearing so much.
IS SOCIETY DEAD?
• What aspect of New York did
the author notice?
• The day life in New York is
powerfully presented in
these lines. Suppose you
describe the same in your
own city, what points will
you note?
• What, according to the
author, are the markers to
identify the i-Pod generation?
• Have you noticed i-Pod
people in your town too? Is
there any difference
between the i-Pod
generation in New York and
those in your own town?
Andrew Sullivan
Are you familiar with the ‘i-pod generation’? You may have seen themat railway stations, busy cityscapes and at times in remote villagestoo. Perhaps, you yourself may be one among them. What is specialabout this generation and how do you distinguish them?
Now, read on to know more about the ultra modern representatives oftoday’s youth.
II. Read and reflect:
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
170
Yes, I might as well own up. I'm one of them. I witnessed
the glazed New York looks through my own glazed pupils,
my white wires peeping out of my ears. I joined the cult a
few years ago: the sect of the little white box worshipers.
Others began, as I did, with a Walkman and then a kind
of clunkier MP3 player. But this sleekness of the i-Pod
won me over. Unlike other models, it gave me my entire
music collection to rearrange as I saw fit --- on the fly, in
my pocket. What was once an occasional musical diversion
became a compulsive obsession.
And, like all addictive cults, it's spreading.
Walk through any airport in the United
States these days and you will see person
after person gliding through the social ether
as if on autopilot. Get on a subway and you're
surrounded by a bunch of Stepford
commuters staring into mid space as if anesthetized by
technology. Don't ask, don't tell, don't overhear, don't
observe. Just tune in and tune out.
It wouldn't be so worrying if it weren't part of something
even bigger. You get your news from your favorite blogs,
the ones that won't challenge your view of the world. You
tune into a satellite radio service that also aims directly
at a small market for new age fanatics, liberal
talk or modern rock. Television is all cable.
Your cell phones can receive email feeds of
your favorite blogger's latest thoughts seconds
after he has posted them, or get sports scores for your
team. Technology has given us a universe entirely for
ourselves; the serendipity of meeting a new stranger,
hearing a piece of music we would never choose for
ourselves, or an opinion that might force us to change our
mind about something --- are all effectively banished.
Atomization by little white boxes and cell phones. Society
without the social. Others who are chosen --- not met at
random. Human beings have never lived like this before.
Yes, we have always had homes, retreats or places where
we went to relax, unwind or shut out the world. But we
didn't walk around the world like hermit crabs with our
isolation surgically attached.
• This article is replete with
powerful anti-technology
words for presenting the
arguments of the author. Try to
list down those expressions.
eg., anesthetized by technology
• Why does the author say
that technology has given us
a universe entirely for
ourselves?
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
171
Music was once the preserve of the living room or the
concert hall. It was sometimes solitary but it
was primarily a shared experience, sometimes
that brought people together. But music is as
atomized now as living is. And it's secret. That
bloke next to you on the bus could be listening
to heavy metal or a Gregorian chant. You'll
never know. And so, bit by bit, you'll never really know
him. And by his white wires, he is indicating he doesn't
really want to know you.
What do we get from this? The chance to slip away for a
while from everydayness, to give your lives its own sound
tracks, to still the monotony of the commute, to listen
more closely and carefully to music that can lift you up
and can keep you going. We become masters of our own
interests, more connected to people like us over the
Internet, more instantly in touch with anything we want,
need or think we want and think we need.
But what are we missing? That hilarious shard of an
overheard conversation that stays with you all day; the
child whose chatter on the pavement takes you back to
your earlier memories; birdsong; weather; accents; the
laughter of the others. And those thoughts that come not
by filling your head with selected diversion, but by allowing
your mind to wander aimlessly through the regular
background noise of human and mechanical life.
External stimulation can crowd out the interior mind. Even
the boredom that we flee has its uses. We are forced to
find our own means to overcome it.
Not so long ago, I was on a trip and realized I had left my
i-Pod behind. Panic. But then, something else.
I noticed the rhythms of others again, the
sound of the airplane, the opinions of the taxi
driver, the small social cues that had been
obscured before. I noticed how others related
to each other. And I felt just a little bit
connected again and a little more aware.
Try it. There's a world out there. And it has a
soundtrack all on its own.
(Adapted)
• The author has described the
experiences of music in the
past and the present to drive
home his point. Compare the
experience of music in the
past with the experience of
music in the present.
• What were the nicer aspects
of life that the author
noticed when he forgot to
take his i-Pod on a trip? How
did the author enjoy the new
experience?
• Do you notice anything
special about the ending of
the essay?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
172
About the Author
Andrew MichaelSullivan is a Britishauthor, editor, andblogger in the UnitedStates. An influentialcommentator and a
seasoned lecturer, Sullivan’s writing isknown for its excellent journalisticinsights and heavy use of imagery.
This article on the ‘i-Pod generation’appeared in The Times Online, onFebruary 20, 2005.
Glossary:
mishmash : a confused mixture
throng : a large, densely-packed crowd
of people or animals
bump : knock or run into someone or
something with a jolt
shut out : screen someone or
something from view
squawks : (of a bird) loud, harsh noise
twitch : give or cause to give a short,
sudden jerking or convulsive
movement
clunky : solid, heavy, and old-
fashioned
sleek : smooth and glossy
compulsive : resulting from or relating to an irresistible urge
obsession : the state of being obsessed with someone or something
addictive : (of a substance or activity) causing or likely to cause someone
to become addicted to it
cult : a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards
a particular figure or object
auto pilot : an electronic control system, as on an aircraft, spacecraft, or
ship, that automatically maintains a preset program
commuter : a person who travels some distance to work on a regular basis
serendipity : the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy
or beneficial way
atomization : separating something into fine particles
bloke : man
hilarious : extremely amusing
shard : a piece of broken ceramic, metal, glass, or rock,
typically having sharp edges
obscure : not discovered or known
Activity 1 (Writing)
r When you read any article, you will realize that some of the
statements made are facts and some others are mere opinions. A
good reader must be able to distinguish between the facts and
opinions presented in any article.
Now, sit in pairs and identify examples of facts and opinions from
the article ‘Is Society Dead’?. You may write them in the two
columns given below.
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
173
Activity II (Short essay)
r This article you have read discusses how technology, especially
the MP3, kills social interaction in the lives of people. Being a
member of a technology-friendly generation, you intend to argue
for the benefits of technology in enhancing social interaction.
What are the points that you will bring in, other than the ones
listed below? Sit in groups and find a few more points.
Technology makes communication faster.
Technology affords diverse formats of interaction.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prepare a short essay on the topic- Technology : Making Society
Alive to be published in TECH-WATCH, the school magazine tracking
the latest developments in the technology field.
FACT OPINION
I was visiting New York Each was in his/her own
last week musical world
............................................. ............................................
............................................. ............................................
............................................. ............................................
............................................. ............................................
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
174
When he told his family about the site on the Internet
where you could create whole streets, his wife and son
went on eating their pasta and artichokes.
Only his daughter Greta looked up. ‘I could
buy a house on Pomanger Street,’ he said,
‘and put as many rooms in it as I wanted. I
could fill it with fruit and make my own library.’
‘Sure, Dad,’ said his son, who was eleven. ‘You could do
that. If you wanted to.’
His son already knew how to programme
computers, but wasn’t interested. These days
he wanted to give away books and devote his
life to karate.
His wife ate the heart of the artichoke carefully.
‘Well?’ he said.
‘The thing is,’ she answered, ‘I’m in front of a computer all
day and I like to spend the evenings in the garden.’ He
understood she wasn’t interested.
Greta looked up from her artichoke leaves. She was
arranging them in a swirling pattern in her bowl.
‘You said there were streets. You said there could be fruit.’
These weren’t questions. Greta often repeated whatever
she heard. She’d worked hard to tie her shoes by age ten
and could read at fifth-grade level, five grades below Joel,
even though she was sixteen. She went to a special school.
‘I want to see,’ she said.
‘I’ll show you,’ he answered. His wife and his
son made eyes. He’s at it again. He’s getting
Greta into it, too.
CONCEPTUAL FRUIT
• Why are the son and the
wife uninterested? Do you
approve of their attitude?
• Greta is a special child. How
do you know that? Have you
ever visited a special
school?
• How does the wife and the
son react to the man’s
excitement? What does this
tell us about their character?
Thaisa Frank
Differently-abled children are integral part of our society. Often, thedaily charms of a regular life is denied to them. Technology extends ahelping hand and acts as a leveller in such cases. This story revealsthe human face of technology in helping a young girl shape the worldaround her.
III. Read and reflect:
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
175
‘Come on. I’ll show you where you can make up streets
and bowls of fruit.’
Greta sat in his chair, and he sat next to her. Greta could
type very slowly. By the time she left her
school, she might be able to type fast enough
to get a word processing job. No one knew for
sure.
‘There’s this guy named Sam who set up this whole library
of classics. He lives in Illinois, but he made
this incredible place. Watch.’ He clicked into
the programme and was about to show Greta
the collection of books when he saw her
staring into space. ‘You want something of
your own, don’t you?’
‘Yes. Peaches and pears and artichokes.’
‘Do you want them in a house, with bowls in a kitchen?
Or maybe in a garden?’ He was already typing, creating a
street called Greta’s Street, a house called Greta’s House.
‘Why are you writing all that down?’
‘Because they’re yours. They belong to you.’
Greta looked at the screen. Her blond hair blended with
her sweater. Her blue eyes were the only colour in her
face.
‘I want a bowl in every room,’ she said. ‘Peaches in the
kitchen and living room and all the bedrooms.’
‘What about artichokes?’
Greta picked at her sweater – something she did when
she knew she hadn’t gotten it right. She’d forgotten about
the artichokes, and he was sorry he’d reminded her. ‘It’s
okay,’ he said. ‘We’ll put peaches everywhere. Should the
bowls be a colour?’
‘Blue.’
He asked Greta how many windows she
wanted, whether there should be a fireplace,
and if there should be curtains. Greta chose
eleven windows covered with sheer white curtains like
the ones she had in her bedroom.
• What is the father's
expectation of his daughter’s
future prospects?
• Who is Sam? Why is he
mentioned here? Do you
have any friend who has
done interesting things in the
field of computers?
• How is Greta described in
these lines? What does this
convey about the character
of Greta?
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
176
‘Okay, now the fruit,’ he said. ‘We’ll start with the kitchen.’
He wrote Greta’s Kitchen, and added, Walk around. Help
yourself to this bowl of fruit.
‘But where are the peaches?’
‘In a minute. Look, this is cool. You click under bowl, and
see what happens?’ He shielded the screen for a moment
and wrote peaches. ‘Try it,’ he said. ‘Just click bowl.’
Greta clicked bowl. The word peaches appeared. ‘It’s just
a word,’ she said to him.
‘Well, that’s the idea. But you can see a picture
of the fruit.’
‘I thought you could make real peaches.’
‘No. You have to go to the store for those.’
‘But these are just words.’
‘Well, yes.’
‘Then why do people like them?’
‘Because they remind them of what they stand for. Like
in your books.’
He created other rooms, asking Greta what she wanted:
a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, a bedroom, a room
for a cat, and one bathroom.
‘No, not a bathroom,’ she decided. ‘This isn’t
a real house, so people wouldn’t use it.’
‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘You don’t need a bathroom.’
He programmed bowls of peaches in every room. ‘Now,’ he
said to Greta. ‘You click.’
Greta clicked and this time smiled when the
word peaches appeared. It was a furtive smile
– a smile she got when she pretended she
understood something that made no sense.
‘There could be other fruit,’ he said. ‘There could be apples,
pears. There could be flowers.’
‘Sure,’ said Greta. ‘There could be anything.’
His wife was cutting blackberries in the
garden, and Greta was already sliding from
the chair to help her. Greta would never have a house of
• What made Greta
disappointed? How did her
father try to console her?
Was his explanation
convincing ?
• Why doesn’t Greta intend to
have a bathroom in her
house?
• Why does she give a furtive
smile when she saw the word
‘peaches’ on the computer
screen. What does it
indicate?
• Can you identify the words
that tell you that she is
disinterested?
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
177
her own. She would live in a group house with
other people like her. He hoped the house
would be large and have sheer white curtains
billowing in all the rooms. He hoped it would have an
orchard with fruit to put in real blue bowls: apples, pears,
peaches – whatever Greta wanted.
• What are the thoughts of the
father? Do you think that they
are touching? Why?
About the Author
Thaisa Frank is a critically acclaimedshort story writer. She worked as apsychotherapist before becoming a fulltime writer. In addition to writingfiction, Frank also teaches at theUniversity of San Francisco.
This short story ‘Conceptual Fruit’about the Internet appears in thecollection Sleeping in Velvet.
Glossary:
artichoke (n) : round vegetable with thick
green leaves
swirl (v) : move in a twisting pattern
incredible : impossible to believe
blonde : fair/pale yellow hair
blend (v) : mix with another
substance so that they
combine together
peach (n) : a round fruit with juicy
yellow flesh
furtive : attempting to avoid
attention
slide (v) : move smoothly
billow (v) : swell/ bulge out
Activity I (Read and respond)
r A story can be analysed based on its characters, setting, plot,
mood, structure, and its language. In the light of your reading of
the story discuss these elements in groups and complete the table.
The table gives you a few details about these elements.
Characters A character in a story usually means a person.
......................................................................
Setting The setting is where and when the actionhappens.
......................................................................
Plot The plot means the events that happen in thestory.
......................................................................
Mood The mood is the state of mind /feelings createdin the story.
......................................................................
Structure and It refers to the way the text is written.language ......................................................................
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
178
r The most important characters in a story have primary roles. The
characters next in importance to those have secondary roles while
those who are not important to the story have tertiary roles.
Now, read the story ‘Conceptual Fruit’ again to track the events
of the plot and the characters involved.
Classify the characters according to their roles and list them inthe blanks given below.
Primary Secondary Tertiary
--------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
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--------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Now, answer the following questions.
m Can we call this a technology story?
m Why do you think so?
m Do you have any evidence to cite?
m Write a short paragraph about this. Use different colours to
highlight the points, evidence and explanation.
Activity II (Think and respond)
Read the excerpt from the story ‘Conceptual Fruit’ carefully. Basedon the setting of the story, answer the following questions.
‘When he told his family about the site on the Internet where you couldcreate whole streets, his wife and son went on eating their pasta andartichokes. Only his daughter Greta looked up.'
m What is interesting about this family?
m Is it a middle class or upper class family?
m How do you understand the characters of this story?
Activity III (Analysis)
r Note down the words, phrases or passages that create a picture
of the characters in your mind in the column to the left of the
table. Now note your analysis of the characters on the column to
the right.
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
179
Textual Information Reader’s Response
.......................................... ..........................................
.......................................... ..........................................
.......................................... ..........................................
.......................................... ..........................................
Activity IV (Writing)
r Read the last paragraph of the story again and see how the au-
thor has touched the readers’ mind with his powerful and careful
use of words.
"Greta would never have a house of her own. She would live in a grouphouse with other people like her. He hoped the house would be largeand have sheer white curtains billowing in all the rooms. He hoped itwould have an orchard with fruit to put in real blue bowls: apples, pears,peaches --- whatever Greta wanted.
Now, look at the various elements of language such as punctua-
tion, sentence structure and repetition of words. How do they
create the required mood and tone in this paragraph?
If you were the author of the story, how would you end the story?Write an alternative ending to the story.
Activity V
r Let’s revisit the story. Spend a few minutes reflecting on the story.
You can make use of the following hints.
m Theme of the story
m Important characters
m Tender moments in the story
m Your feelings after reading the story
m Language, tone, mood and structure of the story
Now, plan how you are going to tell people about your understandingof the story. Think about how you would convey the story in the followingformats.
• a text message to a friend
• an email to a relative
• a post on a social network medium
Make notes about the content and style, in groups, before writing outthe texts in the boxes below.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
180
Activity I (Application letter and CV)
Read the following advertisement which appeared in a newspaper.
Lee Shipping Company Ltd.
Receptionist/ Booking Clerk
We have a vacancy for the above position to work in
our prestigious office in Singapore.
The candidate must speak and write both English
and the mother tongue. His/her duties will be to
answer the telephone, take messages, make
reservations, deal with clients both personally and
by telephone, work in Microsoft Word, Excel, etc., type
quotations and letters, file documents etc.
Please send your application, CV, and a photo to:
Lee Shipping Co Ltd.
4545 Changi Boulevard,
Singapore
Text message Email Social media post
--------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
--------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
--------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
--------------------- --------------------- ---------------------
Activity VI (Word power)
r We come across many technology related terms in the story. They
add in great measure to the charm and impact of the story. A few
words have been identified for you.
Site Internet Computer browse
Click Program Screen surf
Now, discuss with your friend and write down as many Internet
related words as possible. You may also refer to a dictionary or to
other articles on cyberspace.
Extended Activities
Unit- 6: LEAPS AND BOUNDS
181
r You decide to apply for the post. Type an application letter and a
CV on your desktop or laptop.
Activity II (Telephone interview)
Imagine that the company accepted your application and asked
you to give a telephone interview. Prepare the script of the
telephone interview.
Activity III (write-up)
The interview board asked you to prepare a write-up on ‘Why youwant this job.’ Prepare a write-up on this in about one-and-a half
pages.
Textbook for Class XI - ENGLISH
182
Students demonstrate the ability to
• realise the disadvantages of the over-informed society.
• be aware of the issues related to technology, and to distinguish
between the positive and negative sides of technology,
specifically cyberspace.
• Recognize the responsible ways of using cyberspace.
Thematic outcomes
Students demonstrate the ability to
• read and analyse articles on technology related issues.
• write short articles presenting the arguments convincingly.
• recognise the style, structure and format of e-mails.
• prepare e-mails for communicating ideas.
• identify the different techniques adopted by writers inacademic and literary writings.
• conduct/ attend telephonic interviews.
• write application letters and CVs.
Linguistic outcomes
The major learning outcomes of this unit are listed below.